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AUSTIN – Just in time for the weekend, the Mega Millions jackpot prize for the Friday, July 29 drawing has been increased to an estimated annuitized $1.28 billion due to robust sales and excitement among lottery players over the last few days. The jackpot is the second largest jackpot prize in game history and the third largest in U.S. lottery history. Friday’s drawing offers a cash value worth an estimated $747.2 million. If there is no jackpot winner for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing, the jackpot prize for the Tuesday, Aug. 2 drawing will roll to an estimated annuitized $1.7 billion, which would mark a new U.S. lottery record.
“The excitement that’s been generated by this Mega Millions jackpot has led to outstanding sales figures for the Texas Lottery during the last several days, which means more revenue for the state of Texas,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “While we’re hoping that the lucky winner will be a Texas Lottery® player, we want to remind everyone to play responsibly. Also, if it appears that you have the jackpot- winning ticket, we encourage you to sign the ticket, put it in a safe place, seek financial and legal advice and call the Texas Lottery to schedule an appointment to claim the prize.”
Friday’s drawing will be the 30th in the current Mega Millions jackpot run since starting as an estimated annuitized $20 million for the April 19 drawing. This is the largest Mega Millions jackpot up for grabs since the Oct. 23, 2018 drawing when it reached an estimated $1.537 billion – the game’s largest jackpot prize, which was won by an out of state player.
Texas has had 13 Mega Millions jackpot prize winners since it joined the game in 2003. Its most recent jackpot winner came in September 2019 when a Leander resident won an estimated annuitized $227 million, the largest prize ever paid out to a single Texas Lottery player.
Since the start of 2022, five Texas Lottery players have won second-tier Mega Millions prizes of $1 million or larger, including two during the current jackpot run. A Houston resident claimed a $1,000,510 second-tier prize for the drawing held on May 13 and an Ingram resident claimed a $2 million second-tier prize for the drawing held on June 17.
Mega Millions is played by choosing five numbers from a field of 70 and one Mega Ball number from the second field of 25 numbers. To win the Mega Millions jackpot, players must match all six numbers drawn including the Mega Ball. Players matching fewer numbers may not win the jackpot but could still walk away winners. Mega Millions currently offers a $20 million starting jackpot and a second-tier (Match 5+0) prize of $1 million. By choosing the Megaplier® feature for $1 more per Play, players can multiply their non-jackpot winnings by two, three, four or five times, winning as much as $5 million.
Drawings are broadcast each Tuesday and Friday at 10:12 p.m. CT. Texas Lottery players can purchase Mega Millions tickets at more than 20,000 Texas Lottery retailers across the state. Ticket sales for the next Mega Millions drawing will close at 9:45 p.m. CT on Friday, July 29. The retailer that sells a jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket is eligible to receive up to a $1 million retailer bonus.