WASHINGTON — The Mega Millions jackpot reached $498 million after Friday's drawing ended without a jackpot winner, nearing half-a-billion dollars after a winless streak since early June.
One person in New Jersey and one in California matched the five white ball numbers and won a million dollars each.
Mega Millions' most recent winner was an anonymous player in Illinois who won a $552 million jackpot ($260.2 million cash) on June 4. Huge jackpot wins have been the norm in 2024: A ticket sold in New Jersey hit a $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot in March, and a Powerball ticket in Oregon won a jackpot worth more than $1.3 billion in April.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302,575,350.
Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, August 16, 2024
The winning numbers for Friday, Aug. 16 were 22-38-48-51-61, Mega Ball 5, and 3x Megaplier.
When a winner matches all five numbers and the Mega Ball, they have the option to take the full jackpot paid out as an annuity over 30 years, or a smaller lump sum cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option, which was $228.5 million for Friday's drawing.
Players who match only the first five numbers win at least $1 million.
What time is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
- $2.04 billion: Powerball - Nov. 7, 2022
- $1.76 billion – Powerball - Oct. 11, 2023
- $1.586 billion: Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016
- $1.58 billion: Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023
- $1.537 billion: Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018
- $1.35 billion: Mega Millions - Jan. 13, 2023
- $1.337 billion: Mega Millions - July 29, 2022
- $1.326 billion: Powerball – April, 6, 2024
- $1.13 billion: Mega Millions - March 26, 2024
- $1.08 billion: Powerball – July 19, 2023
