Have you bought your Mega Millions lottery ticket for Friday’s drawing? Even if you don’t win the $1.35 billion jackpot, you still have a chance to win millions in prizes.
In the last Mega Millions drawing on Tuesday, 16 lucky ticket holders across the United States won prizes ranging from $1 million to $3 million. These winners matched the numbers on five of the six white balls drawn, which has odds of 1 in 12,607,306. These odds are much better compared to matching all six balls to win the jackpot, which has odds of 1 in 302,575,350, according to the consortium that runs the lottery.
However, it’s important to note that winning any prize still requires a lot of luck. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the odds of winning these prizes are one in a million, which means you’re more likely to be struck by lightning in a given year than win a prize.
The total winnings for matching five white balls also depends on whether you paid an extra $1 for the Megaplier wager. The Megaplier multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2-5 times the prize amount. The Megaplier is drawn before each Mega Millions drawing on Tuesday and Friday nights. In Tuesday’s draw, the Megaplier was three, which meant that three winners won $3 million instead of the standard prize of $1 million.
There are various other prize amounts available for matching different numbers in a given draw, excluding the Megaplier.
- Matching four white balls and the gold Mega Ball: $10,000
- Matching four white balls: $500
- Matching three white balls and the gold Mega Ball: $200
- Matching three white balls: $100
- Matching two white balls and the gold Mega Ball: $10
- Matching one white ball and the gold Mega Ball: $2
- Matching the gold Mega Ball: $2
These prize amounts provide players with more chances to win a significant amount of money, even if they don’t match all of the numbers. Be sure to check your numbers after each draw to see if you’re a winner.
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In Tuesday’s draw, 215 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball, resulting in a minimum win of $10,000. Additionally, 41 of those tickets had an even bigger payout of $30,000 each, due to the inclusion of the optional Megaplier.
The next Mega Millions draw is scheduled for Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time. The jackpot has not been won since October 14, 2022, and will continue to grow until a lucky ticket holder matches all six numbers drawn.
