.jpg?ssl=1 "Mega Millions nears billion: When is the next drawing?")
Who wants to be (nearly) a billionaire?
After nobody hit the lucky string of numbers Friday night, the jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery has soared to an estimated $900 million ahead of Tuesday’s drawing.
No ticket matched all six numbers in Friday’s draw, which allows the prize to climb even higher. The winning numbers from Friday’s drawing were 16‑21‑23‑48‑70, with Mega Ball 5.
The $900 million jackpot equates to a cash value of about $415.3 million if a winner opts for the lump sum rather than the annuity. That is, of course, before any taxes are paid.
The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 23, while the odds of capturing the jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336.
Tuesday’s drawing marks the 38th time since the $348 million jackpot was last won in Virginia on June 27 that it has rolled over.
The anonymous ticket holder from Burgess, Virginia, opted for a $155.6 million cash payout and told lottery officials that they planned to buy a zero-radius riding lawn mower.
The $900 million prize stands as the eighth‑largest Mega Millions jackpot since the game began in 2002, and only the third time it has climbed to at least $900 million, since the current record jackpot of $1.602 billion was reached in August 2023.
That winner, who purchased the ticket at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, Florida, came forward in September 2023. The prize was claimed through an LLC named Saltines Holdings, LLC, which opted for the lump‑sum cash payment of approximately $794.25 million.
By claiming the prize through an LLC registered in Delaware, a state that permits anonymous ownership, the winner was able to avoid having their name publicly disclosed.
Florida law allows lottery winners to remain anonymous temporarily, but after 90 days, names are generally released.
Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5 each and can include a randomly assigned “multiplier” which can increase non‑jackpot winnings by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x. The game is available in 45 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
