This week’s draw, with a projected jackpot of nearly half a billion dollars, is predicted to be among the top 10 highest prizes in Mega Millions history. According to lottery organizers, the jackpot on July 15 will be the tenth-largest award in the game’s 20-year history.Since the draw on April 15, no ticket has successfully matched all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. However, this is not to suggest that there haven’t been many victors.During the Mega Millions drawing held last night, which had a $440 million jackpot advertised, 1,197,065 tickets won at least their original purchase price. One lucky winner matched all five white balls for the seven-figure win; prizes ranged from $2 to $1 million.38 additional tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball to take home the $10,000 third-place prize in the game. Five of those tickets, doubling their prizes to $20,000 each, had the $1 Megaplier add-on, which was 2x last night.
The Mega Millions drawing for July 15 will take place on Friday at 11 p.m. ET. There are nine different ways to win in this game, and the payouts range from $2 to the jackpot.
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Mega Millions debuted in August 1996 as the “Big Game,” with only six participating states: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia. The interstate lottery product has since drastically expanded, with today, Mega Millions is being played in 45 US states, plus DC and the US Virgin Islands.
The lottery says since the April 15 jackpot, which was just $20 million and won in Tennessee, there have been more than 14.1 million Mega Millions winning tickets. The majority of those prizes have, of course, been the minimum $2 prize.
Someone, at some point, will eventually match all six numbers to claim the life-changing jackpot. If that doesn’t happen on Friday night, the rollover will likely move the jackpot up the Mega Millions top 10 rankings.
Top 10 Mega Millions Jackpots
- $1.537B 10/23/2018 — 1-SC
- $1.05B 1/22/2021 — 1-MI
- $656M 3/30/2012 — 3-IL, KS, MD
- $648M 12/17/2013 — 2-CA, GA
- $543M 7/24/2018 — 1-CA
- $536M 7/8/2016 — 1-IN
- $533M 3/30/2018 — 1-NJ
- $522M 6/7/2019 — 1-CA
- $516M 5/21//2021 — 1-PA
- $480M (est.) 7/15/2022 ?
Prize Breakdown
If a single ticket wins the Mega Millions jackpot in two days, the lucky winner won’t ever see the full $480 million. Instead, the individual will give a considerable portion of the haul to the federal government, and potentially to their home state.
If the winner opts for the full $480 million prize paid out over a 30-year annuity, the winner would net $10.117 million a year after paying the federal government approximately $5.88 million annually in taxes. State taxes could further lower the take-home amount.
If the winner goes for the one-time lump cash option, which is typically the preferred payment route for major lottery winners, the person would stand to receive $276 million. But after the feds take its effective 37% cut, the prize would be reduced to $173.9 million.
States tax lottery winnings in varying ways. Nine states do not tax lottery wins at all: California, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
Others take a large cut, like Maryland’s 8.95% lottery tax. DC levies the highest lottery tax at 10.75%.
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