It's Now 23 Straight Misses for Mega Millions

$785M prize was not claimed on Tuesday
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 3, 2023 10:55 AM CST
Updated Jan 4, 2023 8:13 AM CST
6th Largest Jackpot in US History Up for Grabs
A Mega Millions lottery ticket is shown, Monday, in Surfside, Fla. The jackpot for the Tuesday drawing is estimated at $785 million.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
UPDATE Jan 4, 2023 8:13 AM CST

And the pot keeps growing. The first Mega Millions drawing of 2023 returned no winner, as has been the case for the 22 drawings before it. CNN reports that means the next drawing, on Friday, will be for a jackpot that's estimated at $940 million. Should someone win and opt for the cash prize, they'd take home roughly $483.5 million. "In more than 20 years since the game began in 2002, there have been just three larger jackpots than Friday's estimated prize," per a news release. The largest of those three was a $1.537 billion prize won in October 2018 thanks to a "simple act of kindness." Including Powerball, this is the sixth largest jackpot ever, reports CBS News.

Jan 3, 2023 10:55 AM CST

An estimated $785 million Mega Millions jackpot set for Tuesday night will give lottery players a chance to start the new year with a lucrative bang. The big prize is the sixth-largest jackpot in US history and has grown so large because no one has matched all six of the game's numbers for more than two months, the AP reports. There have been 22 straight drawings without a big winner, allowing the prize to roll over and become ever-larger.

The jackpot-winning drought isn't surprising given the miserable odds of one in 302.6 million of winning the top prize. The $785 million jackpot is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for a cash payout, which for Tuesday night's drawing would be an estimated $395 million. The jackpot is the largest since someone in California won a record $2.04 billion Powerball prize on Nov. 8. There still has not been an announced winner of that jackpot.

(More Mega Millions stories.)

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