Mega Millions Jackpot Survives, Grows to $226M for Next Drawing

An estimated $203 million jackpot was up for grabs from Mega Millions, the popular lottery-style games in the United States, on Friday. The latest drawing saw numbers 15, 35, 48, 53, 68 and the Gold Mega ball 8 drawn.

Yet, nobody guessed correctly all the winning numbers from the latest drawing. The estimated $203 million jackpot had a cash option of $96 million.

However, after nobody won the grand prize, the jackpot from Mega Millions continued to grow. The next drawing of the popular game is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 11 PM ET.

Surviving on Friday enabled the jackpot to increase, and it is estimated at approximately $226 million for the upcoming drawing. The cash option is also astronomical or $106.9 million.

The last time a lottery player won the Mega Millions jackpot was early in June. At the time, an incredibly fortunate player from Illinois bagged the mind-boggling $560 million jackpot.

The chances of winning the jackpot from Mega Millions are always the same, namely 1 in 302,575,350.

No Million-Dollar Prizes Won in the Latest Draw

The latest Mega Millions draw saw nobody win the grand prize and surprisingly, nobody won a seven-figure prize too. Matching five winning numbers would’ve granted $1 million second-tier prize.

The same number of winning numbers would’ve also granted $3 million had a winner guessed them and paid for the Megaplier option, considering the Megaplier from the latest draw was 3x.

On the bright side, 16 lottery players who matched four winning numbers along with the Gold Mega ball number secured $10,000 each. Five other players paid extra for the Megaplier option which granted them a Megaplier prize of $30,000 each.

Some 333 lucky players matched four numbers from the latest drawing to secure $500 each. Additionally, 79 more players matched the same number of balls but secured $1,500 each thanks to the Megaplier option.

It’s not a surprise that the biggest number of winners came from the lowest prize tier. Nearly 429,000 players matched only the Gold Mega ball to secure $2 each, while 94,442 players won a $6 Megaplier prize each.