DES MOINES — No one in Iowa became an overnight billionaire, but Iowa Lottery officials Saturday said 50,106 Iowa players won prizes in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing.
A Mega Millions lotto ticket purchased in Michigan matched the winning numbers: 4-26-42-50-60 and Mega Ball 24 needed to unlock the $1 billion jackpot, according to lottery officials. Wednesday’s $731.1 million Powerball jackpot was won by a ticket in Maryland.
It marked the first time that the two games’ jackpots had simultaneously topped the $700 million mark.
For Friday’s drawing, Iowa Lottery players bought more than $2.7 million in Mega Millions tickets — including more than $1.8 million in tickets on Friday alone. The average Mega Millions purchase on Friday in Iowa was about $6, or three plays per ticket with the odds of winning the jackpot a staggering one in 302.6 million.
The record for a lottery prize remains the Powerball jackpot of nearly $1.59 billion that was split in January 2016 by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.