At $810 Million, Mega Millions Jackpot Ranks As 4th Highest U.S. Jackpot Ever

RALEIGH, N.C. (News Release) โ€“ Tuesdayโ€™s Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. history at an estimated $810 million.

Only three jackpots have been bigger. They were:

A $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won in January 2016
A $1.53 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in October. 2018.
A $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in January 2021.

The jackpot ranks as the 3rd largest in the 20-year history of the Mega Millions game. A North Carolina winner on Tuesday night would have the choice of taking home the $810 million as an annuity or $470.1 million in cash.

โ€œWhat makes Mega Millions so exciting is the mega jackpots and to see the fourth-largest ever in Tuesdayโ€™s drawing is definitely noteworthy,โ€ said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. โ€œNorth Carolina has never seen a win of that magnitude. We are all crossing our fingers and hoping it happens Tuesday night.โ€

Friday nightโ€™s drawing produced a number of big wins in North Carolina, including:

Two $30,000 wins with tickets sold at the Speedway on North JK Powell Boulevard in Whiteville in Columbus County and using Online Play in Huntersville in Mecklenburg County.
Three $10,000 wins with tickets sold at Buffalo Shoals Supermarket & Hardware in Newton in Catawba County, Beaโ€™s Country Store in Autryville in Sampson County, and using Online Play in Enfield in Halifax County.

In total, just under 100,000 winning tickets were sold in North Carolina for Fridayโ€™s drawing. The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.

Players can buy Mega Millions tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lotteryโ€™s website, www.nclottery.com, or with the lotteryโ€™s app, the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolinaโ€™s 100 counties, click on the โ€œImpactโ€ section of the lotteryโ€™s website.