Mega Millions Jackpot: How To Play, Where To Buy Tickets And Where The $810 Million Ranks

Ever dreamed of winning more than $800 million? If the answer is yes, a $2 Mega Millions ticket might be among the items you purchase Tuesday.

What Happened: Mega Millions is one of two big jackpot games done by multiple states and territories in the U.S.

The jackpot has not been won for the past 28 straight drawings dating back to April 15, which has led to one of the highest Mega Millions jackpots on record.

The current jackpot is $810 million for the Tuesday, July 26 drawing that takes place at 11 p.m. ET. Sales for Mega Millions tickets at retail stores and online end at 10:45 p.m. ET before the drawing.

States and territories that participate in the Mega Millions are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Tickets cost $2 to play, with an additional $1 cost for the multiplier. The multiplier ball raises the non-jackpot amount won by 2-times, 3-times, 4-times, or 5-times.

The $810 million, or whatever the final figure is for Tuesday’s jackpot, is payable over a 30-year period. One payment is made initially with additional annual payments that go up 5% each year. This is done to offset potential inflation. A lump-sum cash option of the money in the Mega Millions pool is also offered with a current estimate of $470.1 million.

How To Play: The Mega Millions drawing selects five white balls and one golden Mega Ball. The white balls consist of numbers 1 to 70 and the gold Mega Ball is numbered 1 to 25.

Players can select their own numbers for their ticket, with lucky numbers, birthdays and anniversaries often among the favorite selections. Players can also receive random numbers by selecting an easy pick/quick pick.

Matching the gold ball automatically pays out $4 to players. Any combination of white balls with the gold ball has a payout with all five white and the gold needed for the jackpot.

Without the gold ball, players need to match at least three white balls to receive a $10 prize (odds 1 in 606).

Matching five white balls and not the golden ball pays out $1 million (odds 1 in 12,607,706).

The odds to win the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.

Overall odds to win a prize of at least $4 are 1 in 24.

Related Link: JMP Analyst Names 5 Gambling Stocks To Buy On The Dip 

Jackpot History: Tuesday’s drawing could be the third-largest Mega Millions winner. Drawings in 2018 and 2021 produced winners of $1.537 billion and $1.05 billion, respectively. The largest lottery winner was a Powerball jackpot in 2016 for $1.586 billion.

The Mega Millions jackpot was last won on April 15 by a player in Tennessee. Four Mega Millions jackpots have been won in 2022 listed below:

January 28: California, $426 million

March 8: New York, $128 million

April 12: Minnesota, $110 million

April 15: Tennessee, $15 million.

Companies to Watch: Two companies involved in the sale of lottery tickets and ticketing products are International Game Technology PLC IGT and Scientific Games, a unit of Brookfield Business Partners LP BBU.

IGT signed a deal with the Michigan Lottery Tuesday to increase its iLottery offerings in the state. The company is one of the trusted partners of multiple states to run online lottery offerings.

Another non-public company making headlines for the Mega Millions is the restaurant chain Raising Cane’s. Company founder and CEO Todd Graves purchased 50,000 Mega Millions tickets, representing the 50,000 employees of the company.

If one of the tickets wins the jackpot, the winnings will be distributed throughout the restaurants with employees having the opportunity to win thousands of dollars.

“None of what we do at Cane’s would be possible without our crew, which is why we are always looking for ways to bring them a little extra fun, and if we’re lucky, a surprise on Wednesday morning,” Graves said.