Mega Millions jackpot reaches an astounding $977M after no one wins Tuesday’s drawing

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot has reached an astounding $977 million for Friday night’s drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Tuesday night.

The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday were 24, 46, 49, 62, 66 and the gold Mega ball: 7. The estimated jackpot was $893 million with a cash prize of $421.4 Million. The cash prize for Friday’s drawing is $461 million.

Four people won $1 million each in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida.

It’s just the sixth time in the game’s nearly 22-year history that the jackpot has reached this level; only five jackpots exceeding $1 billion have been higher.

Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded five jackpots exceeding $1 billion, all in different states. South Carolina was the first in 2018, followed by Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, Maine in early 2023 and Florida last August.

The odds of winning any lottery jackpot are very slim. Mega Millions players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of taking home the top prize.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.