The winning numbers were: 7, 22, 37, 43, and 44, with a gold Mega Ball of 22 and a multiplier of X4. The Friday draw had an estimated jackpot of $80 million ($61.7 million cash option), but that will rollover as lottery officials have confirmed there were no top prize winners yesterday evening.
One player in the state of Washington did match five numbers to win $1 million.
A total of 10 players across the U.S. matched four standard balls and the gold Mega Ball to net $10,000, with two of those using the X4 multiplier to boost the winnings to $40,000.
Further down the board, 258 players walked away with $500 each and 657 won $200. The next draw will take place on Tuesday (March 17). It will have an estimated jackpot of $90 million ($69.4 million cash option) and can be watched on television or as it is streamed in real-time on YouTube.
The game’s process is simple to enter: the Mega Millions tickets cost $2 per play, with all participants picking six numbers in total from two pools — five separate numbers for white balls between one and 70, and another single gold Mega Ball number that is between one and 25.
Players can win the top jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in the draw, which take place on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET. The jackpot amount starts at a baseline of $40 million and grows by a minimum of $5 million per draw every time the figure rolls over.
For payment options, the money that is won can come as an annuity — which is one immediate payment followed by 29 annual further payments rising by five percent each time — or cash, which is described as a “one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to all the cash in the jackpot prize pool.”
The first Mega Millions jackpot of this year was won in New Jersey on February 11. The ticket holder, who was not named, won a $202 million jackpot prize ($142.6 million cash).
In December last year, lottery officials announced that a $1 million Mega Millions prize was being split between five friends in Iowa who chipped in to buy lottery tickets together.
Tim Harless of Eldora, bought the group’s winning ticket at a convenience store but said the group had been playing the game together for about 15 years. The four other members of the group were: Dennis Dickenson, 55, Julia Salazar, 64, Dave Twedt, 51, and Steve Wright, 67.
According to Mega Millions officials, the five members said they would use the winnings for “savings, paying off bills or investing for retirement.” But Wright, who is already retired, added that he had one other idea for how to spend his share. “There might be a new pickup in the spring,” he said.
