On Tuesday, the anticipated jackpot for the Mega Millions drawing grew to $830 million, making it the game’s third-largest payout.
The overall context: The Mega Millions jackpot has risen $20 million since Monday’s drawing, which is up an estimated $170 million from Friday’s drawing, according to the lottery.
According to a press release, the prize on July 26 is worth $487.9 million in cash.
Drawings for Mega Millions are held every Tuesday and Friday in 45 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Why this matters: Axios’ Pete Gannon says that governments, professional sports, and venture capital are all eager to bring in a newer, younger generation of gamblers through the gamification of gambling.
To put things in perspective, the third greatest Mega Millions jackpot is the result of a 28-draw streak of no winners since April.
A look back: On Oct. 23, 2018, lottery officials reported the greatest Mega Millions prize was $1.537 billion.
There has never been a single lottery ticket that has won as much money as this one, and it was sold in South Carolina.
When is the Mega Millions drawing?
In the Pacific Time Zone, the Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.
The odds of winning the lottery jackpot are extremely low.
According to the lottery, Mega Millions prizes begin at $20 million and increase in accordance with game sales and interest rates.
According to a press release issued by Mega Millions on Tuesday, the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 303 million.
According to the Associated Press, the odds of winning a smaller prize like $1 million by matching just five ordinary numbers are better than the one in 12.6 million odds of winning the Mega Ball.