Update on Thursday, July 21: The jackpot is still on its big climb! The official jackpot estimate for Friday's Mega Millions® drawing has been raised to $660 million annuity, $376.9 million cash option.
Lots of people hoping their ticket will be the one to hit the bullseye tonight!
With that in mind, here are some fast facts about tonight’s big Mega Millions® drawing, with a jackpot of more than half a billion dollars on the line.
The estimated jackpot for tonight’s drawing is $555 million annuity, $316.9 million cash option.
The jackpot has climbed into the stratosphere because it’s been growing for a few months now. It was last won in mid-April with a ticket in Tennessee.
It’s the 5th-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. The record jackpot in the Mega Millions game was $1.537 billion, won in October 2018 in South Carolina.
Two Iowa tickets came oh, so close in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing! They were just one number away from the big jackpot, matching four of the first five numbers and the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. But one of the players added the Megaplier® to their ticket, which multiplied the prize to $50,000! The $50,000-winning ticket was purchased at Hy-Vee Gas, 1512 Flammang Drive in Waterloo. The $10,000-winning ticket came from Gary’s Foods, 715 First Ave. SW in Mount Vernon.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been won four times so far in 2022. It was won six times last year.
Most tickets for a particular drawing are purchased on the day of the drawing. (Is it a sign of procrastination?) Remember that there are sales cut-off times for Mega Millions drawings. Here in Iowa, the sales cut-off time for tonight’s drawing is 8:59 p.m. If you buy a ticket after that, you’ll still have a valid play, but it will be for a later drawing and you won’t be in on tonight’s big money.
The majority of tickets purchased in Mega Millions are easy picks – more than 90 percent, in fact. And, it’s because they’re easy! You just ask for a play and the lottery terminal chooses the numbers that are printed on your ticket. You also can choose your own numbers. You’ll choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from a separate pool of 25.
You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing. But there are a total of nine prize levels in Mega Millions, so be sure to check your tickets for all the prizes you may have won. Prizes in the game range from $2 up to the jackpot.
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