$640M Mega Millions Jackpot In Friday’s Drawing: What To Know In FL

FLORIDA — An estimated $640 million Mega Millions jackpot is up for grabs by Florida players in Friday’s drawing after no one won the winning numbers Tuesday, the 21st straight drawing without a winner.

In Tuesday’s drawing, no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night – the white balls 9, 13, 36, 59 and 61, plus the gold Mega Ball 11. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.

If a winning ticket is sold for Friday’s drawing, the winner could be paid with an annuity, doled out through annual payments over 29 years. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Friday's drawing will be an estimated $328.3 million.

A Florida resident won the last Mega Millions jackpot of $502 million in the Oct. 14, 2022, drawing. A Fort Myers resident snagged $252 million cash, as did a player in San Jose, California, according to Mega Millions records.

The huge Mega Millions jackpot comes less than two months after a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot was won in California on Nov. 8. The player has yet to come forward to claim the prize.

The reason for all the big prizes is simple — long odds of 1 in 302.6 million ensure there are few winners, and the long streaks of lottery futility allow jackpots to grow ever larger week after week.

In the 21 drawings since the jackpot was last won on Oct. 14, there have been more than 17 million winning tickets at all prize levels. These include 40 worth $1 million or more, won in 18 different states from coast to coast: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The top prizes in the game's history are:

• $656 million prize on March 30, 2012, which was shared by winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland
• $648 million jackpot on December 17, 2013, shared by winners in California and Georgia
• $1.537 billion prize on October 23, 2018, claimed by a single winner in South Carolina. That remains the record Mega Millions jackpot
• $1.05 billion won in Michigan on January 22, 2021
• $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tickets cost $2 each. Players may pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers — five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 25 (the gold Mega Ball) — or select Easy Pick/Quick Pick. You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing.

Lottery officials have advice for whoever has the winning numbers:

1. Sign your winning ticket. Write your full name and signature on the back of the winning ticket. If you lose your ticket, having your name on the ticket means that no one else will be able to cash it in.
2. Keep your winning ticket in a safe place. Take steps to protect your winning lottery ticket by putting it somewhere safe where it won't accidentally get thrown out.
3. Get legal and financial advice. It might be wise to talk to some experienced professionals such as a lawyer, an accountant, or an investment advisor to help manage your winnings.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.