No ticket matched all six numbers to win an estimated $475 million jackpot in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, according to the lottery’s website.
The next drawing is at 11 p.m. EDT Friday for an estimated $515 million jackpot.
Here are the latest updates:
Update 12:58 a.m. EDT May 19: Although no tickets won the grand prize Tuesday night, four tickets – including two sold in California, one in Delaware and one in Ohio – matched five numbers for a $1 million prize, according to the Mega Millions website. One ticket sold in Virginia matched five numbers, including the Megaplier, for a $2 million prize.
Update 11:15 p.m. EDT May 18: The winning numbers Tuesday night were 3, 5, 56, 61 and 66, with a Mega ball number of 4. The next drawing is Friday at 11 p.m. EDT.
Original report: For the second time in the past two years, the Mega Millions jackpot has risen to dizzying heights. Will someone win the ninth-largest jackpot in the promotion’s history?
Anyone can dream, especially with Tuesday’s estimated jackpot at $475 million.
“Buying a Mega Millions ticket gives our players ‘permission to dream’ for just a few dollars,” Gordon Medenica, Maryland lottery director and lead director of Mega Millions, told CNBC. “That’s what buying a ticket does -- it allows us to dream, even if we don’t win.”
The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolling over since it was last won on Feb. 16, according to the promotion’s website. A couple from New York state collected $96 million from that drawing.
That was one of two Mega Millions jackpots won during 2021. On Jan. 21, a staggering $1.05 billion prize went to a group in Michigan.
According to the Mega Millions website, that was the second-largest jackpot in the history of the game. It was topped only by the $1.537 billion prize won in October 2018 by a woman in Simpsonsville, South Carolina, The Washington Post reported.
If someone wins Tuesday’s jackpot, they can take the amount as an annuity spread over 30 payments. A winner opting for the lump sum cash option will receive about $319.4 million before taxes, CNBC reported.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions is about 1 in 302 million. According to the National Weather Service, the odds of being struck by lightning is 1 in 15,300, CNBC reported.
Ticket buyers are hoping lightning strikes when the six balls are pulled Tuesday night.
Cox Media Group
