Mega Millions Jackpot Nears Rare Milestone

The Mega Millions jackpot is nearing the billion-dollar mark once again—but "again" doesn't happen too often. After no ticket matched all six numbers in Tuesday's drawing, the top prize being offered Friday sits at an estimated $965 million. Should it pass the $1 billion mark, it would be just the eighth time the jackpot entered 10-figure territory in the game's history, reports ABC News. The winning numbers on Tuesday were 10, 13, 40, 42, 46, and the gold Mega Ball 1.

The last time someone hit the jackpot was on June 27, and since then, there have been 39 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner. While no one claimed the top prize this week, there were more than 809,000 winning tickets across all prize levels, with total winnings exceeding $27.9 million. The odds of hitting the jackpot remain steep at about one in 290 million. Mega Millions is available in 45 states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands, with tickets costing $5 per play. The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, $1.6 billion, was won on August 8, 2023. CNN reports the last billion-dollar win happened last December, when the jackpot stood at $1.269 billion. (Until April, tickets were just $2 each.)