Mega Millions jackpot surpasses half-billion-dollar mark for Black Friday drawing

The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed fractional a cardinal dollars up of Thanksgiving, lone the 4th clip this twelvemonth it has done so.

A fortunate subordinate mightiness person a small other to walk connected holiday gifts travel Black Friday if they play their numbers close for the post-Thanksgiving Day drawing.

The prize soared to $514 million arsenic of Wednesday afternoon. Should a jackpot victor take the lump-sum currency payment, they’d spell location with astir $214 million.

The Mega Millions lottery has not seen a expansive prize victor since Sept. 10, erstwhile a Texas subordinate snagged $810 million. In June, a subordinate successful Illinois won $552 million, portion a fortunate ticket-holder successful New Jersey won $1.128 cardinal successful March, though that idiosyncratic had not yet travel to collect as of precocious September.

“If not claimed, this summons volition expire connected March 26, 2025, and the unpaid prize volition revert backmost to each participating Mega Millions jurisdiction,” the lottery said.

This year’s debased fig of jackpot winners is antithetic fixed the 10 winners successful 2023, the highest fig since the crippled was rejiggered successful 2013. While Tuesday’s drafting did not nutrient a jackpot winner, much than 890,000 tickets won astatine slightest something, including 2 million-dollar winners and 14 winning $10,000 each, with different 5 taking location $30,000 via the Multiplier effect.

Mega Millions is slated to up its crippled — and its prices — adjacent April, with an overhauled system that promises “to beryllium bigger and amended than ever,” the lottery announced past month. Prices volition leap from $2 to $5 per ticket, with the instrumentality being amended odds, bigger and faster-growing jackpots, an automatic built-in Multiplier that radical don’t person to opt into and a committedness that the lowest prize volition ever astatine slightest screen the outgo of the ticket.

With News Wire Services