How Much Is the Next Mega Millions Jackpot & When Is the Drawing?

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Mega Millions is now in record-breaking territory. No one won Tuesday night’s drawing, which was already the largest in Mega Millions’ history. Now we’re breaking more records.

Because no one won the Tuesday night Mega Millions jackpot, the next jackpot is estimated to be worth $868 million, with an up-front cash option of $494 million. The drawing will be Friday night, October 19, at 11 p.m. Eastern. 

This jackpot amount is an estimate and might be even bigger if more people play than expected. Friday’s jackpot will be the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, higher than the $656 million jackpot that was won on March 30, 2012.

The Mega Millions drawing takes place Tuesday and Fridays at 11 p.m. Eastern, but states may stop selling tickets 15 minutes to an hour before the drawing.

In 2012, three winning tickets were sold, so the jackpot was split three ways in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland. The largest single-ticket winner in Mega Millions history was on July 24, 2018, when one person from California won the $543 million drawing.

This Mega Millions drawing will also be the second-largest in all lottery history. Aside from the 2012 Mega Millions, the other larger jackpots were the $758.7 million Powerball on August 23, 2017 and the $1.6 billion Powerball on January 13, 2016. So this Mega Millions jackpot is now firmly in second place. If no one wins this next drawing, then Mega Millions might be entering the billion-dollar category like Powerball did in 2016.

Your chance of winning the Mega Millions is slim. The odds of winning Mega Millions are 1 in 302.6 million, which are actually less than the odds of winning the Powerball, which is 1 in 292.2 million. But it only costs $2 to play, so getting one ticket “just in case” isn’t that much of an investment. Here’s what you can win if you play:

• • In order to win the jackpot, you’ll need to match all five white balls and the yellow Mega ball.
  • If you match all five white numbers only, you’ll win $1 million (and more if you’re using a Mega plier option.)
  • If you match 4 white and the yellow, you’ll win $10,000.
  • If you match 4 white only, you’ll win $500.
  • If you match 3 white only or if you match 2 white and 1 yellow, you’ll win $10.
  • If you match a yellow ball and a white ball during tonight’s drawing, then you will walk away with $4. That’s enough to buy yourself two more tickets for $2 each in the next jackpot. But if you only match two white balls and don’t match the yellow ball, you won’t win anything.
  • If you match one yellow ball (which is the last number drawn), then you’ll win $2. But if you only match one white number, then you also won’t win anything tonight.
  • Matching just one or two white balls won’t win you anything.

You can buy a ticket at any retailer that sells lottery tickets, typically a gas station/convenience store or a grocery store. It costs $2 to play.

If you think Mega Millions jackpots are more frequently larger, you’re not imagining things. The jackpots have a greater chance of growing because of changes that were implemented in October 2017.

READ NEXT: Here are the cutoff times for buying Mega Millions tickets in every state.