DES MOINES, Iowa – Though it may just be another Friday evening for most of us, a handful of lucky lottery players in the next Mega Millions drawing will be millionaires before midnight.
Not only that, but with the Mega Millions jackpot now at $1.35 billion — the game’s second-highest grand prize — one ticket could virtually deify someone’s savings account.
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Friday’s drawing is set for 11 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on News 6.
The last drawing, on Tuesday, awarded over 6.1 million players with prizes below $200; fewer than 18,000 players with prizes below $1,000; 215 $10,000 prizes; and 16 “Big Winners.” Comprising that last group were two tickets sold in Florida, winning with Match 5 and the Match 5 + 3x Megaplier for prizes of $1 million and $3 million, respectively. The numbers drawn late Tuesday night were: 7, 13, 14, 15, 18 and gold Mega Ball 9.
The new jackpot drawing Friday will be another milestone in the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Wednesday.
“Now at $1.35 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is moving up and making history as the second highest Mega Millions jackpot ever," Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in the statement.
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The only Mega Millions jackpot larger than Friday’s prize is the $1.53 billion won in South Carolina in 2018, Mega Millions said.
The largest jackpot in the U.S. to date was a $2.04 billion Powerball won by a single ticket in California in November.
The estimated $1.35 billion jackpot in the next drawing would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing is an estimated $707.9 million.
There have been 25 drawings over three months since the last time a player matched all six numbers and claimed the jackpot.
Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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