BOSTON, MA (WBZ-AM) --- It's not Mega Millions anymore. The jackpot for Friday night's Mega-Millions lottery drawing has reached $1 Billion Dollars.
The cash option on the prize is now an estimated $565.6 million now considered the second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.
The last time the multi-state lottery jackpot hit a record number was back on January 13, 2016 when tickets sold in Florida, Tennessee and California won a share of the $1.586 Billion jackpot.
The largest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time is $1.586 billion. Tickets sold in California, Florida andChristian Teja, Director of Communications for Massachusetts State Lottery, he says as you would expect lottery tickets have been selling pretty well across the state.
"We did about 2.9 Million in sales just on Thursday $1.7 on Wednesday so that number i expect to be significantly higher today," he said.
According to Teja, Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing will be the 25th since the jackpot was last hit July 24, when a $543 million jackpot was won by a group of 11 co-workers on a ticket sold in California.
Meanwhile, the Powerball jackpot for the Saturday, October 20 drawing has been increased to an estimated $470 million, that cash option for that prize is now an estimated $268.6 million.
“With the Mega Millions jackpot reaching the $1 billion mark and the Powerball jackpot gaining momentum, this is an exciting time for our customers and our retail partners and we encourage people to keep the experience of playing these and other lottery games fun by playing responsibly,” said Michael Sweeney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Lottery.
According to the Massachusetts State Lottery, Mega Millions tickets are $2 each and can be played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets for Friday’s drawing can be purchased until 10:45 p.m. Friday at Massachusetts Lottery retailers throughout the state. Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta, GA.
WBZ NewsRadio1030's Ben Parker (@RadioBenParker) Reports