Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small.
Saturday, July 29, 2023 5:24AM
The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $1.05 billion after there was no winner in Friday night’s drawing.
The winning numbers for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing are: 5, 10, 28, 52, and 63 and the Mega Ball was 18.
Five tickets sold in this drawing matched five numbers, according to the Mega Millions website.
The estimated prize has been building since someone last matched all six numbers and won the jackpot April 18. Since then, there have been 29 straight drawings without a jackpot winner.
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Friday’s jackpot was the eighth-largest ever in the U.S. It comes a little over a week after someone in Los Angeles won a $1.08 billion Powerball prize that ranked as the sixth-largest in U.S. history. It’s still a mystery who won that prize.
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million.
The prize would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $472.5 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery winnings.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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