Tonight’s Mega Millions Jackpot Nears $450 Million
DES MOINES, Iowa — (Associated Press) - The estimated jackpot for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing has risen to $449 million, which would make it the seventh largest lottery jackpot in US history.
If any ticket matches all the balls drawn, the jackpot will be the largest since a $429.6 million Powerball prize won by a New Jersey family May 7. The highest jackpot drawn in the country was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January by players in three states.
The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball in the Mega Millions game are one in 259 million.
The drawing will take place at 11 p.m. Eastern time.
Top US lottery jackpots
Here’s a look at the 10 previous highest US jackpots and the winners’ home states:
1. $1.6 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets from California, Florida, Tennessee)
2. $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
3. $648 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
4. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida)
5. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri)
6. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas)
7. $448.4 million, Powerball, Aug. 7, 2013 (three tickets, one from Minnesota and two from New Jersey)
8. $429.6 million, Powerball, May 7, 2016 (one ticket, from New Jersey)
9. $425.3 million, Powerball, Feb. 19, 2014 (one ticket, from California)
10. $414 million, Mega Millions, March 18, 2014 (two tickets, from Florida and Maryland)
