$1.35B Mega Millions Jackpot: How To Play Historic Lottery In VA

VIRGINIA — The Mega Millions drama will continue on Friday night as a $1.35 billion jackpot, the second largest in the history of the game, is on the line. The prize has been climbing since the last jackpot was won in October 2022.

To be included in Tuesday’s drawing, players in Virginia must buy their tickets by 10:45 p.m. Mega Millions drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The only jackpot ever that was larger was in $1.537 billion, when a winning ticket was sold in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018.

Although jackpot winners can choose to be paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 29 years, nearly all take the cash payout. For Friday’s drawing, that’s an estimated $724.6 million.

The most recent Virginia jackpot win was July 22, 2016, when Kevin Young of Bristow split a $15 million jackpot with a Georgia player, according to Mega Millions records.

Long streaks without a winner allow jackpots to grow larger week after week. The last time the Mega Millions jackpot was claimed was Oct. 14, when two winners in San Jose, California, and Fort Myers, Florida, shared in a $502 million jackpot.

Some of the other big Mega Millions jackpots include:

• $656 million, shared by three players in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland in March 2012
• $648 million, shared by two players in California and Georgia in December 2013
• $543 million, won by a California player in July 2018
• $536 million, won an Indiana player in July 2016
• $533 million, won by a player in New Jersey in March 2018

Although weeks without a winner cause the jackpot to grow, Tuesday’s is still a far cry from the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 8. The player has yet to come forward to claim the prize.

The Powerball game also claims the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, but barely. A $1.59 billion prize in January 2016 was shared by three winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot — about 1 in 302.6 million — don’t increase with a flurry of ticket sales. But they are better than the odds a meteor will hit your house, according to a report from Business Insider. And the odds of a perfect NCAA basketball bracket chosen by a coin flip are 9,223,372,036,854,775,808, or 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

Although no one claimed the jackpot in the Tuesday, Jan. 10, drawing, 16 players matched the five white balls to win the game’s $1 million second-tier prize.

Across the country, 215 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize. Forty-one of those tickets are worth $30,000 each, because they included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which was 3X on Tuesday night. The other 174 third-tier winning tickets are worth $10,000 each.

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.

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