Update at 10:15 p.m. on Friday July 29
Here are the winning numbers in tonight's Mega Millions® drawing: 13-36-45-57-67 and Mega Ball 14. The Megaplier® number was 2. We'll have full Iowa results from the drawing in the morning. Thank you to everyone who played and was part of the fun. Good luck on your tickets!
The giant Mega Millions jackpot tonight was an estimated $1.28 billion annuity, $747.2 million cash option.
That is the second-highest jackpot in the history of the Mega Millions game and the third largest ever offered in the United States.
When the jackpot reaches this level, it becomes harder to predict the grand-prize estimate heading into the next drawing. Stronger sales mean the jackpot will go even higher, and that’s what has happened this week!
What’s That About ‘Coverage’?
By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations in the game have been purchased for a particular drawing. It’s called coverage – how many of the combinations have been “covered.” The coverage estimate for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing is about 64 percent. (The odds of winning the jackpot in Mega Millions are about 1 in 302.6 million because that’s how many ways the numbers in the game can be combined in a play.)
Remember The Sales Cut-Off Time
If you’re buying a Mega Millions ticket, remember that there is a sales cut-off time for tonight’s drawing! Here in Iowa, the sales cut-off time is at 8:59 p.m. on the night of the drawing. If you buy a ticket after that, you’ll still have a valid play, it will just be for a future drawing and you won’t be in on tonight’s big money! The cut-off deadline is an automated procedure and it can’t be pushed back.
What If I Win?
The Iowa Lottery has a video for its biggest winners to help provide an overview of the process when someone wins a sizeable prize. The video gives details about the forms required for a prize claim, the cash vs. annuity decision for a jackpot prize, the withholdings involved, and the open records requirements for lottery winners in Iowa. I have included the video above with this blog post and it's online here for anyone looking for more details as they dream about hitting it big.
Reminders About Group Play
With the jackpot at its current level, a lot of lottery players are buying tickets in office pools or with family and friends. The Iowa Lottery has Group Play Reminders on its website to help keep lottery pool play fun and hassle free.
Among the suggestions: Keep an accurate list of everyone who puts in money for a particular drawing and how much they contribute. And, provide everyone in your pool with photos or copies of the group’s tickets before the drawing.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly.
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