ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mega Millions has upped the ante by an additional $100 million.
The absence of a jackpot winner in the last draw of the lottery game on Friday night sent the top prize soaring to around $820 million.
The numbers drawn on Friday night were: 29, 40, 47, 50, 57 and Mega Ball 25 in gold. No tickets were sold to reach all of those numbers for the estimated $720 million grand prize.
The estimated $820 million in the next drawing on Tuesday night would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Almost all grand prize winners choose to receive a cash payout, which for Tuesday’s draw is estimated at $422 million.
The potential jackpot is the fifth largest in the game’s history, Mega Millions said in a statement Saturday morning.
Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to buy tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.
The last time a Mega Millions player won the top prize was on April 18.
Friday’s draw resulted in eight tickets corresponding to five white balls for a prize of $1 million. Two of each were sold in Florida, New Jersey and North Carolina, one in California and another in Michigan, Mega Millions said.
The Powerball jackpot was also approaching near-record levels before a small neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for Wednesday’s draw, worth an estimated $1.08 billion.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.