Mega Millions' $1 Billion Jackpot Winning Numbers Announced

The Mega Millions jackpot winning numbers were 65, 53, 23, 15, 70, with a 7 Mega Ball. If a player [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The Mega Millions jackpot winning numbers were 65, 53, 23, 15, 70, with a 7 Mega Ball. If a player got every number, he or she wins at least $1 billion.

The winner can take home $565 million in cash after taxes, or take the full $1 billion in 29 annual installments. Each installment is 5 percent more than the previous installment.

This is the biggest Mega Millions jackpot in the game's history and the second-biggest single lottery prize in U.S. history. The 2016 $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot still holds the record, reports NBC News. If no one wins on Friday though, the Mega Millions jackpot will grow to $1.6 billion before Tuesday's drawing.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The only states where the game is not played are Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Utah, Nevada and Mississippi.

It has been four months since the Mega Millions jackpot was last won. On July 24, 11 California co-workers won a $543 million jackpot. The biggest jackpot win came in March 2012, when players in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland split a $656 million prize.

According to CBS News, the winning numbers for the previous drawing on Tuesday were 3, 45, 49, 61, 69 and Mega Ball 9. However, no one won the $667 million jackpot. Officials continued to add more money before Friday's drawing, eventually reaching $970 million on Thursday.

"This is truly uncharted territory, and it's exciting to see people across the country buying their tickets and joining in the fun," Gordon Medenica, Mega Millions Lead Director and the Director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming, said in a statement early Friday. "Hitting the $1 billion mark for the first time is historic, and we can't wait to meet the winners who will share in that history."

Although a jackpot win has remained elusive, there have still been 22 million winning tickets sold since July 24, including 34 $1 million-winning tickets. Five people won the $1 million prize on Tuesday, including one in Texas from a player who used the Megaplier option. That ticket was worth $5 million.

The Mega Millions jackpot renewed interest in the lottery again, but a LENDedu survey shows that Americans are always eager to play the odds and hope to win millions just from lottery tickets. The survey estimated that the average American spends about $223 a year on lottery tickets. The biggest spenders are Massachusetts residents, who spend nearly $763 a year on lottery tickets. North Dakotans were last on the list, only spending about $44 a year on average.

Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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