After nearly three months without a winner, the Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $681 million, one of the largest in the game’s history.
The jackpot started rolling in June, after one Illinois players won 552 million dollars, according to Mega Millions. Since then, there have been 25 draws, but no jackpot prize winners. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, Mega Millions said.
The next draw will be held on Tuesday, September 4. If a winner emerges, they will take home the seventh largest jackpot in the game’s history, and the largest Mega Millions prize in the month of September.
If the winner chooses a cash prize, they will take home $336.1 million, Mega Millions said. Players can also accept a series of annuity payments for 30 years.
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Only two other people have taken home Mega Millions jackpots this year. Before the Illinois winner in June, a New Jersey player won a whopping $1.128 billion. That prize remains unclaimed, but in-state players have one year from the drawing date.
Since 2018, Mega Millions has produced six jackpots in excess of $1 billion, with its biggest win at a staggering $1.602 billion. Winner lived in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Florida and most recently, New Jersey.
Great prices are more common – and it’s no accident, economics professor Victor Matheson from the College of the Holy Cross told CBS News 2023. The Multi-State Lottery Association, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the Mega Millions game, has engineered it to create bigger prizes, and the lottery’s transformation into a nationwide game means more people are paying into the jackpot. The ticket price has also doubled, and there are more number options available, making it even harder to win.