Mega Millions jackpot soars to $940M

The Mega Millions jackpot increased to an estimated $940 million after the Tuesday drawing resulted in plenty of losers but not a single grand prize winner.

The next drawing is scheduled for Friday night. It will be for the sixth-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

The numbers drawn late Tuesday were: 25, 29, 33, 41, 44 and Mega Ball 18.

The $940 million jackpot is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for a cash payout, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $483.5 million.

Tuesday's drawing for an estimated $785 million jackpot had more than 2.9 million winning tickets for lesser sums, including three $4 million tickets sold in Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota, Mega Millions said in a statement.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302.6 million.

The jackpot is the largest since someone in California won a record $2.04 billion Powerball prize on Nov. 8. That winner has not been announced.

Only three Mega Millions jackpots have been larger than Friday's estimated prize in the game's 20 years, including $1.53 billion in 2018, $1.05 billion in 2021 and $1.33 billion in July, Mega Millions said.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.