TRENTON, NJ – Remember the television show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Well, this week’s it’s Who Wants to be a Billionaire? as the Mega Millions lottery drawing jackpot has passed the $1 billion mark.
The prize is there for anyone who wants to be in it to win it, especially here in New Jersey.
“For the third time in the 20-year history of Mega Millions, the jackpot has surpassed the magical $1 billion mark,” the lottery agency said. “No ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night – the white balls 7, 29, 60, 63 and 66, plus the gold Mega Ball 15 – so the estimated jackpot on Friday, July 29, is an astounding $1.025 billion ($602.5 million cash). Friday night’s drawing will be the thirtieth in this jackpot run, which began April 19 after the jackpot was won in Tennessee on April 15.”
Friday’s prize, as currently estimated, is just shy of the $1.050 billion jackpot won in Michigan on January 22, 2021. The Mega Millions record jackpot is $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018; that prize remains the world’s largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.
“We look with anticipation on the growing jackpot,” says Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, current Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium. “Seeing the jackpot build over a period of months and reaching the billion-dollar mark is truly breathtaking. We encourage customers to keep play in balance and enjoy the ride. Someone is going to win.”
With unprecedented traffic after the drawing – more than any in the history of megamillions.com – the Mega Millions website was down for more than two hours Tuesday night.