DES MOINES, Iowa — The video above was published in October 2018.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot in two years is about to get bigger after nobody won Tuesday night's grand prize drawing.
The top prize will be an estimated $970 million Friday. Nobody picked all the winning numbers in Tuesday's $865 million drawing: 10-19-26-28-50 and a Mega Ball of 16.
Eleven tickets had the first five numbers but not the Mega Ball, paying out $1 million. Two of those had the Megaplier which was 2x, so they get $2 million.
Powerball, the other lottery game offered in most of the U.S., has a $730 million drawing Wednesday night.
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.
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, which for Mega Millions would be $638.8 million and $546 million for Powerball.
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.
