February 21, 2024 – For the first time since last July, the Mega Millions® jackpot has surpassed $500 million! It’s just the second jackpot run in more than 12 months that has reached this lofty level.
The jackpot rolls to an estimated $525 million ($247.1 million cash) for the next drawing on Friday, February 23, after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night – the white balls 5, 45, 55, 58 and 68, plus the gold Mega Ball 7. If won at that level, it would be the 11th largest jackpot in the history of the game, and the fifth largest jackpot in the past five years.
Since the last jackpot was won on December 8 with two tickets in California, there have been more than 13 million winning tickets at all non-jackpot prize levels, ranging from $2 up to $4 million. These include 25 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, won in 16 different jurisdictions from coast to coast: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
While the jackpot rolls, the February 20 drawing produced a total of 907,288 winning tickets at all other prize levels. Across the country, 28 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize. Seven of those are worth $20,000 because they included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which was 2X for this drawing. The other 21 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 jurisdictions (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. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia.
