Middletown, PA – Pennsylvania Lottery retailers are seeing robust ticket sales for tonight’s big Mega Millions® jackpot, which has an estimated $540 million annuity value or $380 million cash.
At midday Friday, Mega Millions tickets were selling at a brisk clip of nearly 5,000 per-minute across Pennsylvania.
“We remind players to always play responsibly, no matter the jackpot level,” said Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “If you’re planning to play, remember that Mega Millions ticket sales in Pennsylvania end at 9:59 p.m. on drawing nights.”
After there was no jackpot winner in the Tuesday, July 5, Mega Millions drawing, the jackpot rolled to a $508 million annuity value or $357.7 million cash. Strong sales boosted the jackpot at midday Thursday to the current advertised levels.
The jackpot has rolled 34 times to get to this level, the game’s third-largest jackpot offering. The largest on record was a $656 million prize won on March 30, 2012, by three winning tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
The Pennsylvania Lottery has sold two jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets since joining the game in 2010. A jackpot-winning ticket with a $149 million annuity value was sold in White Oak, Allegheny County, for the May 20, 2014, drawing. It was claimed by a Pittsburgh-area couple who took the $86.8 million cash prize. The second had an annuity value of $153 million and was sold in Milton, Northumberland County, for the July 21, 2015, drawing. A Virginia man claimed the cash prize of $91.7 million.
For the convenience of players who like to pool ticket purchases with friends, family members or coworkers, the Pennsylvania Lottery offers downloadable Pool Play forms at palottery.com.
