Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $251M as Friday Drawing Approaches

The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed the $250 million mark after no one won the game’s top prize last Tuesday. However, players will get another shot at the game’s top prize this Friday.

Multiple Players Claimed Five-Figure Sum

The Tuesday drawing saw players compete for a $232 million jackpot with a cash option of $103.8 million. However, the top prize, ever-elusive, remained out of players’ reach during that drawing.

For context, the winning white numbers for the drawing that took place on May 12 were 17, 32, 35, 40, and 47. The gold Mega Ball, meanwhile, was 17.

While no one quite managed to nail the winning combination a few players succeeded in matching all numbers but one. Unfortunately, these did not include any who matched all five white numbers to win a seven-figure prize. However, they did include several who matched four white numbers plus the gold Mega Ball to win various prizes, depending on their modifiers.

One of the lucky winners took $20,000 (2x multiplier), two took $30,000 each (3x multiplier), one got $40,000 (4x multiplier) and finally, another one got $50,000 (5x multiplier).

Since no one won the game’s top prize, it continued to grow and has now reached an estimated $251 million with a cash option of $112.3 million. As mentioned, the next drawing is set to take place this Friday, at 11 pm ET.

Two Mega Millions Jackpots and Five Powerball Jackpots Have Been Won in 2026

Only two Mega Millions jackpots have been won in 2026 so far. Both wins happened in early March, with the first jackpot going a lucky player in Illinois who matched all winning numbers to win a whopping $536 million. The player later came forward to claim the winnings.

Only two drawings after this, a player in Ohio won a $60 million jackpot. The prize was collected by the Happy Trails Trust.

At the same time, Powerball has awarded five jackpots this year, with two happening only several days ago. One of these saw a $143 million prize split between two players, while the other, coming the very next drawing, saw another two players split $20 million.

The former drawing also awarded dozens of Match 5 prizes after an unlikely winning combination matched common player patterns.