Tuesday night’s Mega Millions jackpot exceeded $500 million, but no winning tickets were sold, paving the way for an even larger potential payday later this week.
According to officials with the Illinois Lottery, the Mega Millions jackpot on Friday will grow to at least $630 million, making it the fifth-largest potential jackpot in the history of the multi-state game.
More than 7,000 Illinois retailers currently sell Mega Millions tickets, and Illinois Lottery officials remind residents that tickets can also be purchased online.
According to Lottery officials, the largest Mega Millions prize ever won in the state of Illinois occurred in Mar. 2012, when three winning tickets split a $646 million jackpot.
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The other two winning tickets were sold in Maryland and California.
The largest jackpot in Mega Millions history was won by a South Carolina woman in Oct. 2018. Her winning ticket netted her a cool $1.5 billion, before taxes.
The Mega Millions has only reached $1 billion on one other occasion, with two winning tickets splitting that amount in Jan. 2021.
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The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was captured by three different winners of the Powerball drawing in Jan. 2016, with the three victors splitting a jackpot of nearly $1.6 billion.
The next drawing is set for Friday night at 10 p.m. Central time.
Tickets cost $2, and players can add a “Megaplier” multiplier for an additional $1 for a chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.
