After nearly three months of no winners, the Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $681 million, one of the largest in the game's history.
The jackpot began rolling in June, after an Illinois player won $552 million, according to Mega Millions. Since then, there have been 25 drawings, but no jackpot prize winners. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, Mega Millions said.
The next drawing will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 4. If a winner comes forward, they will take home the seventh-largest jackpot in the game's history, and the largest Mega Millions prize in the month of September.
If the winner opts for a cash prize, they will take home $336.1 million, Mega Millions said. Players can also accept a series of annuity payments for 30 years.
Just two other people have taken home Mega Millions jackpots this year. Before the Illinois winner in June, a New Jersey player won a massive $1.128 billion. That prize remains unclaimed, but players in the state have a year from the drawing date to claim.
Since 2018, Mega Millions has produced six jackpots of over $1 billion dollars, with its largest prize of a stunning $1.602 billion. Winners lived in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Florida and most recently, New Jersey.
Huge prizes are more common - and it's not by chance, College of the Holy Cross economics professor Victor Matheson told CBS News in 2023. The Multi-State Lottery Association, a not-for-profit that coordinates the Mega Millions game, has engineered it to create larger prizes, and the lottery's transformation to a nationwide game means more people pay into the jackpot. The ticket price has also been doubled, and there are more number options available, making it even harder to win.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
