Mega Millions Winning Numbers For 12/30/2022 Drawing: $685M Jackpot

A whopping prize over half a billion dollars is where the Mega Millions lottery jackpot stands for Friday. The prize is $685 million for the player who purchased the winning ticket on Dec. 30.

The one-time cash payout for tonight's Mega Millions drawing is $347.8 million, lottery officials said.

The winning Mega Millions numbers are drawn every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Check with your state lottery for the cut-off time for ticket sales. 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.

The winning Mega Millions numbers for Friday, Dec. 30, are: 01, 03, 06, 44, 51 and the Mega Ball is 07.

It is the largest Mega Millions prize ever offered in the final week of any year, lottery officials said. The Mega Millions jackpot has risen past $600 million just five other times in its more than 20-year history.

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.

Find a complete list of jackpot winners here.

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.

These are the five largest Powerball jackpots in the game's history:

• $1.586 billion, Jan. 13, 2016
• $768.4 million, March 27, 2019
• $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017
• $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021
• $688 million, Oct. 27, 2018

Winners can choose to have an annuity paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments; each payment is 5 percent bigger than the previous one. Or winners can take one lump sum payment equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.