What to Know
- The winning numbers were 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 7
- Mega Millions said 15 tickets matched the five white balls, resulting in prizes of at least $1 million for the ticket holders
- The next drawing will be Tuesday
No one won the latest Mega Millions drawing, meaning the jackpot climbs to a staggering $1.6 billion.
Mega Millions officials say no tickets matched all six numbers to claim the estimated $1 billion grand prize in Friday night's drawing. The numbers were 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 7.
Mega Millions said 15 tickets matched the five white balls but missed the Mega Ball, for prizes of at least $1 million. Those tickets were sold in California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
The next drawing will be Tuesday.
The $1.6 billion estimated jackpot would be the largest prize in U.S. history . The second-largest jackpot was a $1.586 billion Powerball drawing on Jan. 13, 2016.
The jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of California office workers won $543 million.
U.S. & World
It costs $2 to play the game, but the odds of winning the jackpot aren't good. The chance of matching all six numbers and taking home the grand prize is one in 302.5 million.
Mega Millions is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The $1 billion refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Most winners take the cash option, which would pay an immediate $566 million. About half of the jackpot winnings would go to taxes.
The odds of winning remain extremely long.
In fact, the game became harder to win last October, when a redesign upped the price to $2, NBC News reported. The odds of winning the Mega Millions dropped from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million, making it more likely that jackpots would rise to astronomical amounts. The redesign also gave players better odds of winning smaller prizes, like $1 million.
Meanwhile, there was no winner in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, leaving the jackpot to swell to an estimated $470 million. The next drawing is Wednesday.
