Mega Millions jackpot surges to $221 million for Friday’s drawing
Winning Friday’s Mega Millions lottery could be a good way to forget about Chicago’s cold snap.
The jackpot for the multi-state lottery has ballooned to an estimated $221 million for the drawing, lottery officials announced.
Players failed to match all six numbers during Tuesday’s drawing, though one person in Minnesota won $1 million by matching five of them. The jackpot has been rolling over since Nov. 4, when one ticket in New York won a $326 million jackpot, the eighth largest in the game’s history.
If taken as a lump sum, the jackpot would have an estimated cash value of $144 million after taxes, according to the lottery’s website.
The record U.S. lottery prize of $656 million was a Mega Millions jackpot awarded in March 2012. That prize was split among winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland. In December 2013, ticket-holders struck the second largest Mega Millions jackpot of $648 million.
In 2013 a winner in Northern California split a $648-million jackpot (the second largest in game history) with a winner in Atlanta.
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