Mega Millions Jackpot At $1.35 Billion For Friday's Drawing
The Jackpot Is Now The Second Largest In The Game
A JPEG image Iowa Mega Millions playslips is available here: Iowa Mega Millions playslips.
JPEG and EPS images of an Iowa Mega Millions ticket and the Mega Millions game logo are available here: Mega Millions.
CLIVE, Iowa - The Mega Millions® jackpot is now the second largest in game history, reaching an estimated $1.35 billion annuity, $707.9 million cash option, for Friday's drawing.
In addition to being one of the biggest jackpots in Mega Millions, the giant prize is now the fourth-highest U.S. lottery jackpot. It follows the world-record Powerball® jackpot of $2.04 billion won in early November.
The Mega Millions jackpot has reached this level because it has been growing for nearly three months. It was last won Oct. 14.
Overall, Mega Millions was won six times in 2021 and six times in 2022. The game's drawings occur at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
An Iowa Ticket Came Close On Tuesday
Iowa Lottery players won a total of 42,591 prizes in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing, including a ticket that was just one number away from having at least a share of that night's big jackpot.
That ticket initially matched four of the first five numbers and the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. However, the person who bought the ticket added the Megaplier® option to the purchase, which multiplied the prize to $30,000.
The $30,000-winning ticket was purchased at Casey's, 418 S. Seventh St. in Chariton.
Tuesday's winning numbers were: 7-13-14-15-18 and Mega Ball 9. The Megaplier number was 3.
A player wins the Mega Millions jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing. However, there are a total of nine prize levels in Mega Millions ranging from $2 up to the jackpot, so the Iowa Lottery reminds its players to be sure to check their tickets for all the prizes they may have won.
Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $2.4 million in Mega Millions tickets for Tuesday's drawing, including more than $1.2 million in tickets on Tuesday alone. But the average Mega Millions purchase in Iowa for the drawing remained about $6, or about three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that a lot of people had fun playing and didn't go overboard.
Easy Picks vs. Your Own Numbers
The vast majority of tickets purchased in games like Mega Millions and Powerball are easy-pick plays, meaning that the lottery terminal assigns the numbers printed on the ticket. About 94 percent of the plays purchased in Iowa for Tuesday's drawing were easy picks.
But players also can choose their own numbers. They choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 70 for the white balls and one number from a separate pool of 25 for the yellow Mega Ball.
Neither option is luckier. The odds of winning are the same for every ticket purchased in the game. There are more winners from easy-pick tickets simply because the majority of tickets purchased are easy picks.
A player wins the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a Mega Millions drawing. However, there are a total of nine prize levels in Mega Millions ranging from $2 up to the jackpot, so the Iowa Lottery reminds its players to be sure to check their tickets for all the prizes they may have won.
I've Heard That The Odds Change …
There are a lot of beliefs about playing the lottery, and some of them aren't accurate. For example, when it comes to the Mega Millions jackpot, some say that players have a harder time winning when the jackpot climbs because more people are buying tickets.
But if that were the case, how would the lottery ever identify the odds of winning - would they change with each ticket sold?
The odds of winning in Mega Millions do not change. They're the same for every play purchased in the game.
The odds of winning the game's jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million because that is how many ways the numbers available in the game can be combined to make a play.
When the winning numbers are selected, they're one of about 302.6 million possibilities. Will the numbers on your ticket match?
Don't Know How To Buy A Ticket?
When the Mega Millions jackpot really gets up there, a lot of first-time players decide to buy tickets. Some of them have reached out to the Iowa Lottery, saying they aren't sure how to play and don't want to appear silly when trying to buy a ticket.
The Iowa Lottery has shared with them that the simplest way to buy a ticket is to ask a clerk at a store for an easy-pick Mega Millions play. The lottery terminal will select the numbers for that play and print out the ticket.
To give everyone a quick brush-up on playing Mega Millions, the Iowa Lottery has how-to-play videos available here.
Office pools and folks buying tickets with friends and family also are seeing a big jump right now. Reminders to help keep lottery group play fun and hassle free are available on the Iowa Lottery website here.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly.
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