Mega Millions Hits 28 Years, But Doesn’t Celebrate With Jackpot

Posted on: September 7, 2024, 08:52h. 

Last updated on: September 7, 2024, 08:53h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The winning numbers for Mega Millions last night were 6, 23, 41, 59, 63, and the gold Mega Ball was 25. Your ticket didn’t hit the jackpot.

Mega Millions jackpot lottery odds
Tens of millions of Mega Millions tickets were sold for the Friday, Sept. 6, drawing, but none matched the six drawn numbers. The jackpot climbs to an estimated $800 million for the Tuesday drawing. (Image: Getty)

The Mega Millions drawing for Friday, Sept. 6, resulted in no jackpot winners. It marked the game’s 27th consecutive drawing without a ticket matching the six winning numbers.

The next jackpot for Tuesday, Sept. 10, is now an estimated $800 million, with a one-time cash option of $401.8 million. The jackpot has grown to the seventh-richest in the history of Mega Millions, which dates back to 1996.

Tuesday’s $800 million prize trails only seven Mega Millions jackpots won that were each in excess of 10 digits. At $800 million, the jackpot ranks as the 13th-richest in U.S. history.

Top Mega Millions Jackpots

  • $1.602B — 8/8/2023 — 1-FL
  • $1.537B — 10/23/2018 — 1-SC
  • $1.348B — 1/13/2023 — 1-ME
  • $1.337B — 7/29/2022 — 1-IL
  • $1.128B — 3/26/2024 — 1-NJ
  • $1.05B — 1/22/2021 — 1-MI
  • $800M — 9/10/2024 — ?
  • $656M — 3/30/2012 — 3-IL, KS, MD
  • $648M — 12/17/2013 — 2-CA, GA
  • $552M — 6/4/2024 — 1-IL

Friday Night Highlights

Though the jackpot dodged players on Friday, the night wasn’t a total loss, as six tickets matched all five white balls but not the gold Mega Ball to claim Mega Millions’ second-tier prize of $1 million. One of those gameplays purchased the optional $1 add-on Megaplier that doubled their win to $2 million after the Megaplier landed on 2x.

Forty-nine tickets matched four white balls and the gold Mega Ball to win $10,000. Ten of those plays had the Megaplier to double their prize to $20,000. More than 1,000 tickets hit four of the five white balls for $500 prizes, with 223 including the Megaplier.

In total, 1,699,484 tickets won a prize during the Friday drawing. Approximately 1.12 million of those tickets matched the Mega Ball to win back their $2 bet. 

Mega Millions Anniversary

Friday night marked the 28th anniversary of Mega Millions. Though the game originated as The Big Game when it was first drawn on Friday, Sept. 6, 1996, the interstate lottery operation has consistently run ever since.

The original six participating lotteries 28 years ago were Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The Mega Millions logo with the gold Mega Ball displaying six stars represents the original six participating lotteries. Today, Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Along with undergoing rebranding — first to The Big Game Mega Millions in 2002 before becoming Mega Millions in 2003 — Mega Millions has altered its gameplay over the decades to make the jackpot more difficult to win. Lottery officials say jackpot-generating headlines are good for business, as the prizes balloon more non-regular lottery players participate.

The game was most recently overhauled in October 2017 when the price to play was doubled to $2 and the number of Mega Balls was increased from 15 to 25. The number of white balls was reduced from 75 to 70, which led some to think that hitting the jackpot might be easier.

The opposite was true, as the jackpot’s odds lengthened from one in 258.89 million to one in 302.57 million.