Tuesday's winning Mega Millions numbers worth $1.1 billion
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – For the second time this year, there will be more than $1 billion up for grabs in the Mega Millions lottery.
No tickets matched Friday’s winning numbers and the Mega Ball, pushing Tuesday’s jackpot to an estimated $1.1 billion.
The winning numbers drawn Tuesday were 08, 24, 30, 45, and 61 and the gold Mega Ball was 12. The Megaplier was 4X.
It will mark the fifth time in the game’s history that the jackpot exceeded the billion-dollar mark. The last time was in January of this year, with the winner eventually taking home a potential $1.348 billion (if paid out annually; more on that below).
The last time the Mega Millions jackpot was won was April 18, making Tuesday’s drawing the 30th try at a winning ticket. Since then, there have been more than 26.4 million tickets winning non-jackpot prizes.
In order to collect the full jackpot, the winner has to agree to be paid across 30 payments over 29 years. Most winners usually opt for a one-time cash payment, estimated at $550.2 million for Tuesday’s drawing.
It was just a little over a year ago that the game’s third-largest jackpot -- $1.337 billion on July 29, 2022 – was matched by one ticket in Illinois.
According to the Mega Millions lottery, none of the top 10 jackpots in the game’s history has been won by an Ohioan.
The largest Mega Millions jackpots are:
- $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018
- $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023
- $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022
- $1.1 billion (estimated), August 1, 2023
- $1.050 billion, Jan. 22, 2021
- $656 million, March 30, 2012
- $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013
- $543 million, July 24, 2018
- $536 million, July 18, 2016
- $533 million, March 30, 2018
The chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million, but the chances of winning any of the prizes offered is 1 in 24.
For the last drawing on July 28, more than 3.157 million tickets won at least $2 or more. Five tickets nationwide matched the five white balls, netting the holder $1 million; one of those winners included the 5X multiplier, netting the winner $5 million.
Ninety-two tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball for a $10,000 prize each, with 14 of those tickets matching the Megaplier, boosting their winnings to $50,000 each.
Mega Millions offers eight different prize tiers in addition to the jackpot.
The Megaplier is an optional buy-in that multiplies the winnings by that number and is applied to all winnings except the jackpot.
Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays. Five white balls from 1 through 70 are drawn as is a gold Mega Ball from a set of balls numbered 1 through 25.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 each with the optional Megaplier available for an additional $1.