Jackpot up to $508M after no Mega Millions winner Tuesday
MELBOURNE, Fla. — An estimated $454 million jackpot was up for grabs in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing. With no winner Tuesday night, the jackpot climbed to $508 million, the seventh-largest in U.S. lottery history.
"As the jackpots grow, so do lottery sales. At our highest point of sales today, we were averaging $5,160 per minute," said Taylor Nash, deputy communications director with the Florida Lottery. "This is higher than normal."
The jackpot is the third-largest ever in Mega Millions history dating back to 1996, when it was first introduced in six states (not including Florida) as the “Big Game,” according to the Mega Millions website.
"Mega Millions ticket sales in Florida began on May 15, 2013," added Nash. "Mega Millions is one of two multi-state games that have been very popular with Florida Lottery players."
With slightly better odds than the Powerball game, it's rare that nearly four months passes without someone winning a Mega Millions jackpot. Tuesday marked the 34th time the jackpot has rolled over without a winner. The previous record was 22 rolls.
"This is our longest roll ever, by far," said Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and lead director for Mega Millions, which is managed by a consortium of lottery organizations.
Otto said there are several factors for the lack of a winner, and it includes fewer players. The highest jackpot drawn in the country was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January by players in three states.
"It takes much bigger jackpots to get players excited," she said. "It looks like the tipping point might be right about now."
If recent trends are any indication, Brevard County, Fla., residents would be wise to play close attention.
In 2014, Raymond Moyer and Robyn Collier of Merritt Island claimed a $207 million prize from Mega Millions.
More recently, David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith of Melbourne Beach, Fla., claimed a share of the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot. The pair split the jackpot with winners from California and Tennessee, and received a one-time lump-sum payment of more than $327 million.
The biggest jackpot in Mega Millions' history was $656 million in 2012, with winning tickets purchased in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
The jackpot was the largest since a $429.6 million Powerball prize won by a New Jersey family on May 7.
Those hoping to win the jackpot will need to match six numbers, five numbers ranging from 1-75 and a sixth in a range from 1-15 in order to win. Beyond winning a jackpot, there are a wide array of prizes for those who don’t pick all six numbers ranging from $1 (earned by picking the right number on the sixth ball while making no other correct picks) to $1,000,000 (earned by matching all five balls in the 1-75 range).
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Chris Bonanno on Twitter: @FTChrisBonanno