Mega Millions jackpot grows to $970M after no winner was drawn

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Mega Millions jackpot is edging closer to the $1 billion mark after no winner was drawn Tuesday night.

The jackpot is now estimated at $970 million for Friday's drawing. It had stood at an estimated $865 million for Tuesday's drawing.

If hit Friday, it would be the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

Powerball, the other lottery game offered in most of the U.S., isn't far behind at $730 million for a drawing Wednesday night.

MEGA MILLIONS WINNING NUMBERS: 10-19-26-28-50 Mega Ball: 16 Megaplier: 2

While there was no big winner, there were 11 tickets sold that had five numbers, missing only the final Mega number. Nine of those tickets are worth at least $1 million and two tickets sold in Florida had the Megaplier number and are worth $2 million.

It's the first time both lottery jackpots have topped $700 million. The biggest prize was a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016. And the second biggest was a Mega Millions of $1.537 billion hit by one ticket in South Carolina in 2018.

The winning numbers for last Friday's drawing were: 3, 11, 12, 38, 43, with a Mega Ball of 15.

No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since Sept. 15, allowing the prize to grow larger and larger over four months. The last Powerball jackpot winner was a day later, on Sept. 16.

Such big jackpots are rare, but both games rely on incredibly long odds to generate attention and increase sales. For Mega Millions, the odds of matching all six numbers is one in 302.5 million, and for Powerball it's one in 292.2 million.

The prizes listed are for winners who choose an annuity option, paid over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for cash prizes. For Mega Millions, the $970 million would mean a $716 million cash prize, while Powerball would be $546 million.

Those prizes also would be subject to federal taxes, and most states would take a cut as well.

Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is offered in Puerto Rico.

A look at the 10 largest U.S. jackpots that have been won and the states where the winning tickets were sold:

• 1. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
  2. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, South Carolina)
  3. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, Wisconsin)
  4. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
  5. $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
• 6. $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
  7. $648 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
  8. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida)
  9. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri)
  10. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas)