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Fifth largest lottery jackpot prize in U.S. history; third largest in Mega Millions history
AUSTIN – It continues to climb! After there were no winners for Friday night’s Mega Millions® drawing, the jackpot for the Tuesday, Jan. 10 drawing now stands at an estimated annuitized $1.1 billion, the third largest jackpot prize in Mega Millions history and the fifth largest in U.S. lottery history. Tonight’s drawing offers a cash value worth an estimated $576.8 million. Likewise, if there is no jackpot winner for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing, the jackpot prize for the Friday, Jan. 13 drawing will roll to an estimated annuitized $1.35 billion.
“The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion, and now Texas Lottery players are playing for their next chance to become Texas’ next billionaire,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “Mega Millions of sales in Texas continue to pour in ahead of tonight’s drawing, which makes Texas public education a big winner during this jackpot run. We want to remind our players to play responsibly, and that winning only takes one ticket. 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.”
Tuesday’s drawing will be the 25th in the current Mega Millions jackpot run since starting as an estimated annuitized $20 million for the Oct. 18, 2022 drawing. It is the largest Mega Millions jackpot up for grabs since the July 29, 2022 drawing when it reached an advertised $1.28 billion – the game’s second-largest jackpot prize, which an out-of-state player won. A second-tier award worth $1 million from that drawing has yet to be claimed by a Texas Lottery player and will expire on Jan. 25 at 5 p.m. local time if not claimed by the deadline. Fuel Maxx #47, located at 420 University Drive in Prairie View, sold the winning ticket for the unclaimed prize. A winning ticket worth $1 million for the same drawing sold in Plano, and the owner recently claimed it.
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.
In 2022, 13 Texas Lottery players won second-tier Mega Millions prizes of $1 million or more significant. During the current jackpot roll, three Texas Lottery players have won second-tier Mega Millions prizes of $1 million or more powerful. A Whitesboro resident claimed a $3 million second-tier prize for the drawing held on Nov. 1, 2022. More recently, the same retailer, Luck Zone, located at 1250 E. Palm Valley Blvd., in Round Rock, sold two second-tier prize-winning tickets worth $1 million each for the Dec. 20, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023 drawings. The owners have yet to claim both of those prizes.
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 Frida at 10:12 pm CT. Texas lottery players can purchase Mega Million tickets at more than 20,000 Texas Lottery retailers across Texas. Ticket sales for the next Mega Millions drawing will close at 9:45 pm CT Tuesday. In addition, Mega Millions of tickets may be eligible for a $1 million retailer bonus.
