Mega Millions Jackpot of $422 Million is Sixth-Largest of All Time
Friday July 20th 2018Mega Millions players across the United States can dream of winning $422 million in the next draw after the top prize rocketed into the all-time top ten. The jackpot has been rising since the ‘ABC XYZ Trust’ from Ohio won $142 million on May 4th.
Biggest Mega Millions Jackpots
The latest rollover came on Tuesday night, when nobody managed to win the $375 million on offer for matching all five main numbers plus the Mega Ball. The jackpot is now the sixth-biggest on the list of prizes awarded over the 16-year history of the game. The top five are as follows:
* $656 million - March 30th, 2012 - Merle and Patricia Butler (Illinois), The Three Amigos (Maryland), Anonymous Winner (Kansas)
* $648 million - December 17th, 2013 - Ira Curry (Georgia), Steve Tran (California)
* $536 million -July 8th, 2016 - Warren D, LLC (Indiana)
* $533 million - March 30th, 2018 - Richard Wahl
* $451 million - January 5th, 2018 - Shane Missler (Florida)
It may take some time before the current jackpot threatens to break the record set in March 2012, but another couple of rollovers would likely make it the largest prize seen on Mega Millions this year, surpassing the $533 million won by New Jersey’s Richard Wahl in March.
A number of changes were made to the game in October 2017 in a bid to create bigger jackpots, with the starting value of the top prize pushed up from $15 million to $40 million and the number matrix altered. The pool of main balls was reduced to 70 from 75, while the Mega Ball pool increased from 15 to 25. This meant that the odds of winning the jackpot lengthened, but the chances of winning in the second tier improved and larger fixed prizes were introduced in some of the lower categories.
Latest Mega Millions Results
Despite the lack of a jackpot winner since May 4th, there have been 12.4 million prizes given away altogether in the last 21 draws. Three lucky tickets - sold in Florida, New Jersey and Oklahoma - were worth $1 million in the last draw after matching all five main numbers, just missing the Mega Ball. Go to the Mega Millions Numbers page to find the latest results and check if you are due a prize.
The Mega Millions jackpot is comfortably the largest lottery prize on offer anywhere in the world right now, even overshadowing Powerball ($130 million). You can get involved by picking up a ticket from a retailer in a participating state, or by choosing numbers online.
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