Due to strong ticket sales, the Mega Millions® jackpot for Tuesday, Dec. 17, today was boosted to an estimated $586 million annuity value. It is the second-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, and the fourth-largest ever in North America.
If one ticket matches all six numbers for the $586 million jackpot, the winner will have the choice of receiving the full jackpot in 30 annual payments, or a cash prize of approximately $316.5 million before taxes.
The current jackpot has been growing since Oct. 1, when Mega Millions had its most recent jackpot winner. The jackpot has now rolled 21 times without a top-prize winner.
After there was no jackpot winner in the Mega Millions drawing on Friday, Dec. 13, the jackpot rolled to $550 million. It was increased to $586 million at mid-day on Monday, driven by brisk ticket sales.
Mega Millions players across Pennsylvania have won more than $5.5 million in non-jackpot prizes since this jackpot run began. In Friday’s drawing, 563,718 Mega Millions players in Pennsylvania won $1,176,730 in prizes.
This is the largest jackpot since changes were made to Mega Millions that include larger starting jackpots, a million-dollar second prize, and a new matrix of 1-75 for the first five numbers and 1-15 for the Mega Ball number. The ticket price remains $1.
Mega Millions holds the U.S. record for the largest jackpot ever, at $656 million. That jackpot on March 30, 2012, was split by three winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 259 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are approximately 1-in-15.
In Pennsylvania, Mega Millions tickets are sold until 9:59 p.m. on drawing nights.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays. Learn more about the game online at www.megamillions.com.