Mega Millions Jackpot Now Third-Largest Amount in History of Game: An Estimated $415 Million

What’s more American than baseball, fireworks and huge lottery jackpots this Fourth of July holiday weekend?! Not only does the Mega Millions jackpot stand at an estimated $415 million for tonight’s draw, the Powerball® jackpot is drafting right behind at an estimated $243 million for tomorrow night’s drawing!

Here’s what you need to know about Mega Millions: The estimated $415 million jackpot is the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time (see chart below) and the 10^th-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The jackpot amount has rolled a whopping 31 times since the jackpot reset to $15 million on March 12, 2016.

The last time the Mega Millions jackpot was hit was on March 8 when Michael Burkett won $157 million after matching all six numbers on a ticket he purchased in Seattle. The last time a Californian won the Mega Millions jackpot was back on August 22, 2014. Rick Knudsen claimed the $180 million prize after matching all six numbers on a ticket he purchased in Calimesa (Riverside County).

If someone wins the Mega Millions jackpot tonight, they’ll have the option of taking the $415 million spread out over 30 years or taking a lump sum amount (before federal taxes) of $286.4 million. If nobody wins, the jackpot will roll to an estimated $449 million for Tuesday night’s draw ($313.3 million lump sum amount)!

Powerball is getting up there as well! The estimated $243 million jackpot-amount for tomorrow night may seem rather paltry compared to the record $1.586 billion jackpot from January; but keep in mind, the January 13 jackpot was once at $227 million before it snowballed to more than $300 million, then to half a billion then to nearly a billion – and the rest is history!

And, don’t forget about California’s own in-state jackpot game! We know there are a lot of SuperLotto Plus® fans, and that jackpot stands at not too shabby $13 million for tomorrow night’s draw.

If a California Lottery retailer should sell the winning ticket for either Mega Millions, Powerball or SuperLotto Plus, that business would win big as well. It would receive a bonus of one half a percent of the jackpot prize up to a maximum of $1 million. (Since the retailer bonus is from a separate fund, retailers do not have to wait for the winner to come forward to get paid. It also means the winner doesn’t have to share their prize.) And you of course cannot put a price tag on the publicity the winning retailer would receive as the lucky spot to buy lottery products going forward!

         Remember, as all of the jackpots continue to grow, the California Lottery would like to remind players that gambling should be fun. Borrowing money to play, spending above a person’s budget or using money intended for other purposes can ultimately lead to significant problems for players and their families. If a player recognizes that they have a gambling problem or if someone knows of someone who may have a problem, the Lottery recommends calling the Problem Gambling Help Line at 1-800-GAMBLER.

         The Lottery has produced a couple of “Win Wisely” videos as part of our corporate social responsibility efforts. Reporters and players can view them at the following links on our California Lottery YouTube channel:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxFL2N_TNlg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbpOijtTIzs

Keep in mind this is entirely part of the Lottery’s continued effort to give out more prizes, create more winners and most importantly, earn more money for California public schools!

         Mega Millions is played in California (and 43 other states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Draw times are Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m. PST. Tickets are $1 and can be purchased from any of the 22,000 California Lottery retailers or one of the more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky Retailers. Please visit the California Lottery’s Mega Millions site for more information on how to play.

Powerball is a multistate game played in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Draw times are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:59 p.m. PST. Ticket sales are suspended from 7:00 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. the day of the draw. Tickets are $2 and can be purchased from any of the 22,000 California Lottery retailers or one of the more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky Retailers. Please visit the California Lottery’s Powerball site for more information on how to play.

SuperLotto Plus is California’s own in-state jackpot game. Players pick five numbers from 1 to 47 plus a Mega number from 1 to 27. The draw takes place at Lottery Headquarters in Sacramento Wednesdays and Saturdays, right after draw entry closes at 7:45 p.m. PDT. Tickets are $1 and can be purchased from any of the 22,000 California Lottery retailers or one of the more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky Retailers. Please visit the California Lottery’s SuperLotto Plus site for more information. 

The California Lottery is a $5.5 billion enterprise based in Sacramento. It is one of the few state agencies that is a revenue generator, not accepting taxpayer dollars from the State’s General Fund. Its mission is to provide supplemental funding to California schools while simultaneously supporting local communities. In FY 2014-15, the Lottery created 100 new millionaires. Ninety-five cents of every dollar spent by our players goes back to local communities in the form of contributions to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail compensation. The California Lottery urges its customers to play responsibly and within their budgets. If you feel you have a gambling problem, or know someone who does, you can get help at 1-800-GAMBLER.

www.calottery.com

Top 10 Mega Millions Jackpots All Time

-Courtesy Cal Lottery