After a record run of 37 draws, the second-largest jackpot in the history of Mega Millions was won Friday night! The final jackpot value of $1.05 billion ($776.6 million cash), updated to reflect strong sales, goes to a lucky ticket holder in Michigan. That was the only ticket to match all six numbers drawn January 22 – the white balls 4, 26, 42, 50 and 60, plus the gold Mega Ball 24. It is the 18th Mega Millions jackpot won in Michigan over the years; the last one was a prize shared with Rhode Island on October 13, 2017. Michigan is one of the original founding members of Mega Millions.
The giant jackpot is the second largest prize in the game’s history, below only another billion-dollar jackpot, the incredible $1.537 billion won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018 – still the world’s largest lotto prize ever awarded on a single ticket.
In addition to the jackpot-winning ticket, there were plenty of other big winners Friday night. A total of 10 tickets matched the five white balls to win the game’s second prize. Two of those included the optional Megaplier, a $1 extra purchase available in most states. Sold in North Carolina and Virginia, they are worth $2 million each after the 2X Megaplier was drawn. The other eight are worth $1 million – two each in Florida and New York, and one each in Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
To win the game’s third prize, 187 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball; 156 are worth $10,000 each and 31 are worth $20,000 each because they also included the optional Megaplier.
The jackpot was last won at $120 million in Wisconsin on September 15, and in this jackpot run there were almost 42.8 million winning tickets at all prize levels, including 70 second-tier winners of $1 million or more. Those million-dollar prizes were won in 24 different jurisdictions from coast to coast.
The jackpot for the next drawing on Tuesday, January 26, resets to its current starting value of $20 million ($14.7 million cash).