The Mega Millions lottery jackpot has rocketed to an estimated $1.55 billion ahead of the drawing on Tuesday, Aug. 8, and marks the largest grand prize in the game’s history.
The winning numbers on Aug. 4 were 11, 30, 45, 52, 56, and the Mega Ball was 20, but there was no grand prize winner. This was the 31st consecutive drawing without a jackpot winner since April 18.
Seven tickets - one each from Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas - matched all five white balls to each win the game’s second-tier prize of $1 million.
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One ticket sold in Michigan and another in Tennessee matched all five white balls with the added Megaplier of 2x, which took these winnings to $2 million each.
Next drawing is Aug. 8
The next drawing is scheduled for Aug. 8 at 11 pm ET. A winner for this drawing would have the option of taking home a lump sum cash payment estimated to be $757.2 million after taxes.
This jackpot surpassed the $1.537 billion jackpot won in October 2018 to become the largest in the game’s history. It is quickly approaching the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in January 2016, and the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in November 2022 for the largest jackpot of any lottery game in history.
To win the jackpot, players must match all six numbers. The odds of winning the jackpot stands at one in 302.6 million. Mega Millions tickets are sold for $2 each at authorized retailers, and the game is offered in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to the Mega Millions website, winners have two options when receiving payments. They can take the payout in a lump sum, which is the most common choice, or they can opt for an annuity. The annuity would be paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments, each 5% larger than the previous year’s payment.
As Kiplinger has previously reported, these states do not impose taxes on lottery winnings.
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