RELEASE DATE: 3/9/2024
The Mega Millions® jackpot continues its relentless upwards path, with an estimated $735 million prize ($356.7 million cash) on tap for the next drawing on Tuesday, March 12. If won at that level, it would be the sixth largest jackpot in the nearly 22-year history of the game – only five jackpots exceeding $1 billion have been higher. The big prize keeps rolling after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Friday night – the white balls 19, 20, 22, 47 and 58, plus the gold Mega Ball 1.
While the jackpot has been growing since it was last won with two tickets in California on December 8, there have been plenty of winning tickets at all other prize levels. Through the 26 drawings in this jackpot run to date, there have been more than 18.5 million winning tickets at all non-jackpot prize levels, ranging from $2 up to $4 million. These include 30 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, won in 17 different jurisdictions from coast to coast: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
In the March 8 drawing alone, there were a total of 1,171,297 winning tickets at all non-jackpot prize levels. Two tickets matched the five white balls to win the game’s $1 million second-tier prize; they were sold in Georgia and Texas. Across the country, 22 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize. Two of those are worth $30,000 each because they included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which was 3X Friday night. The other 20 third-tier winning tickets take home the standard $10,000 each.
Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded five jackpots exceeding $1 billion – all in different states (Florida, South Carolina, Maine, Illinois and Michigan). Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 each; in most jurisdictions, players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold, where the money supports designated good causes and retailer commissions.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24; the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
See the complete Mega Millions jackpot history.
The top Mega Millions jackpots:
| Amount |
Date |
Winning Tickets |
| $1.602 billion |
8/8/2023 |
1-FL |
| $1.537 billion |
10/23/2018 |
1-SC |
| $1.348 billion |
1/13/2023 |
1-ME |
| $1.337 billion |
7/29/2022 |
1-IL |
| $1.050 billion |
1/22/2021 |
1-MI |
| $735 million (est) |
3/12/2024 |
? |
| $656 million |
3/30/2012 |
3-IL, KS, MD |
| $648 million |
12/17/2013 |
2-CA, GA |
| $543 million |
7/24/2018 |
1-CA |
| $536 million |
7/8/2016 |
1-IN |
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