Jan. 4 (UPI) — The Mega Millions jackpot is estimated to climb to nearly $1 billion after no one won the multimillion-dollar pot on Tuesday night.
The prize is expected to climb to $940 million for Friday’s draw after the first draw of the year for $785 million on Tuesday failed to net a match on all six numbers pulled.
Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 25, 29, 33, 41 and 44, plus gold Mega Ball 18.
With the winnings ballooning to nearly $1 billion, only three jackpots have been larger in the history of Mega Millions, which began in 2002.
The record of $1.53 billion was won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018. The second highest jackpot was won in Illinois in July and a $1.05 billion prize was won in Michigan on Jan. 22, 2021.
If the winning numbers are matched on Friday, the estimated $940 million will be the game’s fourth largest haul.
The last jackpot was won on Oct. 14, but since then there have been more than 22.7 million winning tickets at all prize levels nationwide during the last 23 drawings, according to Mega Millions, including 47 worth $1 million or more.
