Home Hold on to your seat! Mega Millions jackpot is largest September prize in game’s history
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Hold on to your seat! Mega Millions jackpot is largest September prize in game’s history

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The Mega Millions jackpot is growing and is estimated at $681 million for Tuesday’s drawing.

No ticket matched all six numbers drawn in the lottery Friday night – the white balls 10, 17, 20, 24 and 54, plus the gold Mega Ball 8.

If won next Tuesday, it would be the seventh largest jackpot in the game’s history.

The month of September has historically been a good month for jackpot wins – a total of 22 since the game began in 2002, most recently a $431 million prize won in New York on Sept. 21, 2021.

Tuesday’s estimated $681 million jackpot is the largest Mega Millions prize ever offered during any September.

The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $552 million in Illinois on June 4.

In the 25 drawings in this jackpot run to date, there have been nearly 17.5 million winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize tiers. These include 49 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, won in 22 different jurisdictions from coast to coast: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

There were a total of 1,445,634 winning tickets for the Aug. 30 drawing alone. Two of them, one each in Florida and Wisconsin, matched the five white balls to win the game’s second-tier prize. The Wisconsin ticket is worth $4 million because it included the optional Megaplier, which was 4X Friday night. The Florida second-tier ticket won the standard $1 million second-tier prize.

Only two Mega Millions jackpots have been won so far this year. Before the Illinois win on June 4, $1.128 billion was won in New Jersey. That prize is still unclaimed.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tickets are $2 each; in most jurisdictions, players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes.

Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Fridays.

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, Crystal Graham has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of "Virginia Tonight," a nightly TV news show, both broadcast on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television. You can reach her at [email protected]

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