PA Residents Hope For $1.28 Billion Jackpot As Mega Millions Grows

PENNSYLVANIA — Another day, another boost for the historic Mega Millions drawing on Friday night. The game has soared to $1.28 billion, and Pennsylvanians still have a chance to buy tickets until the final before the drawing.

Tickets are sold at gas stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets across the state. The drawing isn't until 11 p.m. eastern time, and tickets for the game can be sold up until 9:59 p.m.

The cash payout currently sits at $747.2 million, following taxes.

If no one wins the jackpot Friday, lottery officials expect the prize to swell to $1.7 million for the next drawing on Tuesday, which would eclipse the $1.5 billion prizes won in 2018 and 2016.

State lottery systems across the country use revenue from ticket sales to boost tourism, transportation and other state interests.

Although no one claimed the jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing, several players did win lower-value prizes by matching some of the winning numbers — 7-29-60-63-66. The Mega Ball number was 15 and the Megaplier number was 3x.

Those winners included a $2.9 million ticket sold in California, where the player chose the correct Megaplier number. Another ticket sold in Ohio is worth $3 million because it included the Megaplier.

Mega Millions tickets are available at gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets in states where the game is played, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Only five U.S. states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah — haven't authorized the Mega Millions game.

The largest jackpot in U.S. history was the $1.586 billion Powerball prize shared by players from California, Florida and Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2016. A single player from South Carolina won the $1.537 billion Mega Million ticket on Oct. 23, 2018.

The jackpot has been growing since April 15, when a player in Tennessee won $20 million. Other Mega Millions jackpots claimed in 2022 were in California ($426 million on Jan. 28), New York ($128 million on March 8) and Minnesota ($110 million on April 12).

Overall chances of winning any prize are 1 in 24. The chances of winning the jackpot are much lower — about 1 in 302.5 million. For perspective, the odds of being struck by lightning are less than 1 in 1 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.