The Mega Millions jackpot reached $1 billion on Friday. So, what are the odds of hitting the winning numbers? Pretty slim.
To make things even more difficult, lottery officials who run the Mega Millions game tweaked the rules and odds in October 2017 to make jackpots pay out less frequently, spurring their monster growth, according to published reports. Since that change, three of the six largest Mega Millions jackpots have been paid out.
Top 10 lottery jackpots Rank Amount Date won Game Winner locations 1 $1.586 billion Jan. 13, 2016 Powerball CA, FL, TN 2 $1 billion ??? Mega Millions ??? 3 $758.7 million Aug. 23, 2017 Powerball MA 4 $656 million Mar. 30, 2012 Mega Millions KS, IL, MD 5 $648 million Dec. 17, 2013 Mega Millions CA, GA 6 $590.5 million 18-May-13 Powerball FL 7 $587.5 million Nov. 28, 2012 Powerball AZ, MO 8 $564.1 million Feb. 11, 2015 Powerball NC, PR, TX 9 $559.7 million Jan. 6, 2018 Powerball NH 10 $543 million 24-Jul-18 Mega Millions CA
Meanwhile, the $1 billion haul marks the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. Between it and Powerball's top prize of $470 million, nearly $1.5 billion is up for grabs for some very lucky winners this week. The next drawings are Friday night for Mega Millions and Saturday night for Powerball.
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Although the jackpot keeps increasing, the odds of winning remain at one in 302.5 million. For Mega Millions, your chance of winning is 1 in 302.6 million. Prior to last October, it was 1 in 258.9 million. For Powerball, it's 1 in 292 million. The chance of winning both is at least 1 in 88 quadrillion (that's 88 followed by 15 zeros).
Tickets for Friday's drawing can be purchased until 10:45 p.m. ET. The live drawing will be televised at 11 p.m. ET. Tickets cost $2 each. Officials say that if there isn't a winner, the prize for Tuesday night's drawing would be $1.6 billion, tying the largest U.S. lottery prize ever.
