Mega Millions Jackpot Soars Past $600 Million, Now Fifth-Largest in History

The Mega Millions jackpot has surged to $630 million after no winner was declared Tuesday, making it the fifth-largest prize in the multi-state lottery game's history.

The lottery's organizers announced Wednesday that the jackpot has continued its upward climb after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn a day earlier. If a Mega Millions ticket does line up with the numbers drawn Friday, it'll be the biggest amount since a ticket in Michigan won a $1 billion prize last year.

Friday's drawing, which has a $359.7 million cash value option, will be the 28th jackpot in a run that began on April 19 after no ticket (which typically cost about $2) has won. By Tuesday, the prize amount rose to $555 million. But none of the tickets included white balls 2, 31, 32, 37 and 70, plus the gold Mega Ball 25.

Since it was launched in 1996 as the "Big Game," the largest-ever Mega Millions prize was a $1.537 billion ticket from South Carolina in 2018, according to its website. At the moment, the game is available in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While no ticket has matched all six numbers in the current run, organizers of the Mega Millions say there have been more than 17.9 million tickets that have matched some of the numbers. Those have won some prize money, including 29 in 16 states worth $1 million or more.

One ticket purchased in Northern California matched five numbers and is worth $629,000 after being purchased in a gas station in Turlock, a small city about 100 miles east of San Francisco, according to the California Lottery.

One Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million that was sold at a Phoenix gas station has yet to be claimed as of Wednesday afternoon, reports the Arizona Republic.

"When we cross that half-million threshold and start getting closer to $1 billion, the excitement really soars and so even more people decide to take the chance to make their dreams come true and buy a Mega Millions ticket, so there really is no telling how high the next Mega Millions jackpot could soar," Arizona Lottery spokesman John Gilliland told the paper.

Before the most recent streak of no tickets matching all six numbers, three other Mega Millions jackpots were won earlier this year, starting with a $426 million prize in California on January 28, followed by a $128 million winner in New York on March 8 and a $110 million windfall in Minnesota on April 12.

Last year, six Mega Millions jackpots produced prizes from $56 million to $1 billion.