WASHINGTON — After a year of huge jackpots, lottery players are once again eyeing a more than $1 billion jackpot that just keeps growing.
The winning numbers for Mega Millions on Tuesday were 7-13-14-15-18 and Mega Ball 9. The Megaplier was 3.
There was no grand prize winner for the 25th time in a row. The jackpot has been rolling since Oct. 14. The estimated jackpot for Friday's drawing is now $1.35 billion.
There are no new billionaires, but plenty of players will make a pretty penny on the million-dollar match five option. Players in California, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia matched the first five numbers to win a million bucks. Three more lucky players in Connecticut, Florida and New York matched five plus the Megaplier to cash out at $3 million.
While the billion-dollar jackpot is what's getting players' attention, that's the annuity prize, which would be paid out over 29 years. Most winners want their money right away and take the cash option, which for Tuesday is $568.7 million. Plus, a chunk of the winnings would go toward federal and in some places, state, taxes.
The past year saw a miniature Golden Age of lottery jackpots, including the record-breaking Powerball prize of more than $2 billion. While the Mega Millions jackpot is half that, it'll be no surprise if it keeps rolling — players face dismal odds of one in 302.6 billion.
Changes to Mega Millions and Powerball in recent years have led to huge jackpots, with most of the top 10 largest prizes won since 2017.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
- $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
- $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)
- $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
When and where is Mega Millions played?
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. Eastern (10 p.m. Central Time, 9 p.m. Mountain Time and 8 p.m. Pacific Time).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.