The Mega Millions lottery's grand prize has been growing since April, and it has now reached a staggering $1.2 billion after Tuesday's drawing, making it the fourth-largest prize in the lottery's history.
The jackpot has been steadily increasing since April when a $20 million prize was won in Syracuse, New York. So far this year, there have been six Mega Millions jackpots won, including a record $1.348 billion haul in January, which was the second-largest prize in the game's history.
The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Friday night (Aug. 4) at 11 p.m. ET, with an estimated jackpot of $1.25 billion and a cash option of $625.3 million.
The winning numbers from the most recent drawing on Tuesday, Aug. 1 were 8, 24, 30, 45, and 61, with the Mega Ball being 12 and the Megaplier being 4X. Though there were no overall jackpot winners, there were five Match 5 winners who won $1 million each and one Match 5 + Megaplier winner in Texas.
To play Mega Millions, you need to pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. Tickets cost $2 per play, and there are nine ways to win a prize, ranging from $2 for matching the Mega Ball to the grand prize jackpot.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are challenging, with a 1 in 302,575,350 chance of matching all five white balls plus the gold Mega Ball.
The Megaplier is an additional feature offered in most states, which increases non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four, or five times. It costs an extra $1 per play and is drawn before each regular Mega Millions drawing.
Currently, the $1.25 billion jackpot for the upcoming Mega Millions drawing is the fourth-largest jackpot in the lottery's history. The largest jackpot ever was the $1.348 billion prize won in January earlier in the year.