39,698 'Winning' Mega Millions Tickets Sold In CT For $522M Pot

In case you haven't heard, there was one winning $522 million Mega Millions jackpot ticket sold and surprise, surprise it wasn't in Connecticut. It was sold by a liquor store in San Jose, California. That means one person can walk away with $308.1 million in a lump sum payout.

The fact that a Connecticut resident didn't win the grand prize is not a shock as Connecticut has never won the top prize but what is kind of shocking is that of the "39,698 winning tickets" sold here in Connecticut that the top prize was just $1,500, which was won by 20 people.

Connecticut didn't even come away with a $50,000 winner. According to the Connecticut Lottery, "39,698 winning tickets" were sold for last night's Mega Millions jackpot in the state, and people won between $2 and $1,500. Nearly 36,000 of those winning tickets were between $2 and $12, according to the CT Lottery.

Just last week someone won $2.3 million in Connecticut on a scratch off ticket. See related: $2.3 Million Prize Claimed off CT Lottery Scratch Ticket

In Connecticut, $5 million has been the biggest payout so far in 2018. That prize was claimed by Stratford resident Robert Nickle, who won $5 million playing Mega Millions earlier this year.

If you're so inclined to see if you won some money from last night's Mega Millions drawing here are the winning numbers.

The winning Mega Millions numbers for July 24, were 1, 2, 4, 19 and 29, and the gold Mega ball was 20. The Megaplier was 3.

The jackpot for the Tuesday drawing, the fifth in Mega Millions history, had been growing since May 4, when a trust from Ohio collected $142 million. Two other jackpots have been awarded this year – $451 million on January 5 in Florida and $533 million on March 30 in New Jersey. The jackpot in March was the fourth largest in the history of Mega Millions.

The highest jackpot for Mega Millions was $656 million and won on March 30, 2012. Since then, jackpots of $648 million and $536 million were won in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

The jackpot for the drawing on Friday drawing now resets to $40 million.

A single play costs $2. Players pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers – five different numbers from 1 to 70 and one number from 1 to 25 (the Mega Ball number). Players can also use an easy pick feature, where a computer selects random numbers for them. To win the jackpot, a player much match all six numbers.

The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball are one in 259 million. No matter how many people play Mega Millions, the chances of winning never change. The chances of winning are based on the amount of number combinations, not the number of players buying tickets, say lottery officials.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings take place at 11 p.m. ET each Tuesday and Friday.

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