The Friday Mega Millions drawing interrupted the apparent lull with two simultaneous prizes of over a million dollars. However, the game’s top prize remained unclaimed and has now exceeded half a billion dollars.
Two Players Became Millionaires
Two lucky Mega Millions players won seven-figure sums, official game data shows. In the meantime, the drawing that took place on March 6 saw no winner of the game’s jackpot, allowing it to reach new heights.
As of the time of the Friday drawing, the jackpot stood at $496 million with a cash option of $232.6 million. The winning numbers for the drawing were 8, 19, 26, 38, and 42, with a Mega Ball of 24.
While no one managed to nail the entire combination, several players came close, winning a variety of smaller prizes instead. These included two players who won the game’s second-tier prize after matching all five white numbers. One of these was based in Florida and took $4 million thanks to their 4X multiplier. The other had a multiplier of 2X and took home $2 million instead.
In addition to that, 9 players matched four white numbers and the Mega Ball to win prizes ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, depending on the multiplier. There was a single win of $20,000, two wins of $30,000, five wins of $40,000, and a single win of $100,000, Mega Millions data show.
In the meantime, the jackpot continued to grow, reaching $533 million for the Tuesday drawing. The cash option of that jackpot is $244.2 million.
The Powerball Jackpot Landed
The Mega Millions jackpot has remained unclaimed for some time, but the recent Powerball jackpot win suggested that jackpot season might be upon the US. The $251 million Powerball jackpot landed last week and was won by a player in Arkansas. The player can either choose the annuity and take the full sum, or go with the one-time cash option of $118 million.
Elsewhere, the Illinois Lottery’s FastPlay Ultimate Diamond Jackpot Game just awarded a $1,694,919 jackpot to a lucky player, shortly after another player won a similar sum.