MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT JUMPS TO $1.28B
A giant Mega Millions lottery jackpot got more massive as officials raised the prize to $1.28 billion on Friday, just hours before the next drawing.
The giant jackpot was the nation’s third-largest prize and is the result of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game’s six numbers. That last time someone hit the Mega Millions jackpot was April 15.
If no one wins the Friday Mega Millions jackpot, lottery officials said the prize would likely grow to $1.7 billion for the next drawing Tuesday, making it the nation’s largest lottery prize.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.
The estimated $1.28 billion prize would be for players who get their winnings through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Friday’s drawing would be an estimated $747.2 million.
Across the U.S., state lottery systems use lottery revenue to boost education, tourism, transportation and much more. With the big Mega Millions jackpot, state officials have been hoping increased national interest in
securing the top prize would result in more funding for their own causes.
On a typical Tuesday draw in Texas, statewide sales hover around $1 million for Mega Millions tickets. On Tuesday this week, they sold $20 million, according to Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission.
He expects the record sales to continue. A typical Friday nets about $5 million in sales. He expected this Friday to crack $80 million.
“As we’re winding down to the end of our fiscal year, we were running neck and neck with last year’s record sales pace,” Grief said of the
state’s lottery revenue. That accounted for $1.97 billion to the state’s Foundational School Fund and $23.4 million toward Veterans’ Assistance. “This will push us past that.”
On Friday, the historic jackpot attracted Bryan Byrd, 36, to buy a ticket at a gas station in Columbia, S.C. Byrd said he only plays when the pot gets this big.
His first move if he takes home the prize?
“Probably put my two weeks’ notice in,” said Byrd. “Hopefully I’m a winner.”
The winning numbers Friday were: 13, 36, 45, 57, 67 with Mega number 14.