Mega Millions Jackpot is a Record $900 Million

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (10/17/2018) – The Mega Millions jackpot has soared past its previous record of $656 million, set on March 30, 2012, with an estimated $900 million ($513.4 million cash) up for grabs on Friday, October 19. The incredible jackpot comes after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night – the white balls 3, 45, 49, 61 and 69, plus the gold Mega Ball 9.

The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won on July 24, when a California office pool of 11 co-workers shared $543 million, the largest prize ever won on a single ticket in the game. Three other Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year – $451 million on January 5 (Florida), $533 million on March 30 (New Jersey), and $142 million on May 4 (Ohio).

There were plenty of winners Tuesday night as players from around the country jumped into the game at record levels. A total of 4,527,495 winning tickets at all prize levels came out of the October 16 drawing, including 19,279 in West Virginia.

“There is a great deal of excitement over this record-breaking jackpot,” West Virginia Lottery Director John Myers said. “People love to dream about life changing money and jackpots of this magnitude always generate additional interest. We want to encourage our players to play responsibly and understand that games like Mega Millions are much more than just the advertised jackpot amount. You can win a variety of prizes, including $1 million for matching just five numbers, or $10,000 for matching four numbers with the gold Mega ball, so always check your tickets.”

Nine tickets matched the five white balls to win the game’s second prize. One of them, sold in Texas, included the optional Megaplier (available for an extra $1 purchase) and is worth $5 million. The other eight are million-dollar tickets – two were sold in Pennsylvania and one each in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey and New York.

One hundred tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball for the $10,000 third prize; 12 of those are actually worth $50,000 each because they included the optional Megaplier.

In this current jackpot run, there have been more than 22 million winning tickets at all prize levels, including 34 worth $1 million or more.
In addition to the Mega Millions jackpot run, the popular Powerball game also has a hefty jackpot. This Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot is an estimated $345 million with a cash value of $199 million. Powerball tickets also cost $2 per play, $3 with the Power Play option.

The top Mega Millions jackpots to date:
Amount Date Winning Tickets
$900 million (est) 10/19/2018 ?
$656 million 3/30/2012                  3-IL, KS, MD
$648 million 12/17/2013 2-CA, GA
$543 million 7/24/2018 1-CA
$536 million 7/8/2016 1-IN
$533 million 3/30/2018 1-NJ
$451 million 1/5/2018 1-FL
$414 million 3/18/2014 2-FL, MD
$393 million 8/11/2017 1-IL
$390 million 3/6/2007 2-GA, NJ

Mega Millions drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Ga. West Virginia players have until 9:59 p.m. ET on draw days to purchase their tickets. Tickets cost $2 or $3 with the Megaplier option which multiplies the prize amount you can win on all prizes except the top prize.

Since 1986, the West Virginia Lottery has generated more than $10 billion in proceeds for the State of West Virginia. Lottery proceeds benefit Education, Seniors, and Tourism in the Mountain State.