According to the Mega Millions website, the winning numbers were 17, 20, 27, 31 and 34. The Mega Ball was 19 and the Megaplier was 4x.
Nobody managed to scoop the jackpot by purchasing a ticket that matched all white numbers and the gold Mega Ball, meaning the grand prize rolls over to the next drawing on Friday.
But there were two lucky winners of the second biggest prize available, with two tickets matching all five white balls to secure a $1 million payout. Neither of those winners purchased the additional 4x Megaplier at the time. If they had, their seven figure prize would have been quadrupled to a handsome $4 million.
There were a further 12 tickets purchased that matched four of the white balls and the gold Mega Ball, thus winning $10,000. Three of those winners had also purchased the additional 4x Megaplier to daudruple their winnings to $40,000.
As the jackpot wasn’t won, it now increases in size to $40 for the next drawing at 11pm E.T. on July 31.
The previous Mega Ball lottery before last night was held on Friday, July 24. The top prize for the previous drawing was $124 million, with the winning numbers for that drawing being 8, 33, 39, 54 and 57 with the Mega Ball being 17 and the Megaplier being 3x.
One lucky winning ticket in New Jersey matched all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball for that draw to claim the gigantic jackpot. Two others matched all five white balls without matching the Mega Ball to win $1 million, with the winning tickets purchased in Illinois and Texas.
The jackpot won last Friday was the first time the top prize has been claimed in over a month. Before that, the previous Mega Millions jackpot was last won on June 9 where one lucky person from Arizona won $410 million, the 10th largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was on October 23, 2018, when a $1.586 billion prize was won.
What is Mega Millions?
Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery that first launched on August 31, 1996. One of the most popular lotteries in the country, tickets are sold in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackpots used to always start at $40 million, but since the coronavirus pandemic this has been reduced to $20 million.
Five white balls are drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 70, with one gold Mega Ball drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 25. With nine different ways to win a prize, your chances of winning at least $2 are 1 in 24, according to the Mega Millions website.
If you are a lucky winner, you will have between 90 days and one year to redeem your ticket, depending on local rules and regulations. All jackpot winners are entitled to either a cash option or an annuity option of an initial payout followed by 29 annual payments that are each five percent larger than the previous ones. All prizes are subject to income taxes.
