Mega Millions jackpot now eighth highest on record and growing

(WTAJ) – The Mega Millions jackpot has officially claimed a place as one of the top 10 highest jackpots in the game’s history.

With no tickets matching all five numbers and the Megaball in Friday night’s drawing, which had an estimated top prize of $525 million, the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $563 million, making it the eighth highest jackpot on record.

Mega Millions held its first drawing in September 1996, originally under the name “the Big Game” and only included six states: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia. As the game continued to grow, it expanded to other states and changed its name to “Mega Millions” in May 2002.

The current top 10 highest jackpots in Mega Millions history are:

1. $1.602 billion won in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023
2. $1.537 billion won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018
3. $1.348 billion won in Maine on Jan. 13, 2023
4. $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022
5. $1.050 billion won in Michigan on Jan. 22, 2021
6. $656 million won and split between three winning tickets in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland on March 30, 2012
7. $648 million won and split between two winning tickets in California and Georgia on Dec. 17, 2023
8. The current jackpot of an estimated $563 million
9. $543 million won in California on July 24, 2018
10. $536 million won in Indiana on July 8, 2016

While there were also no tickets winning $1 million sold for Friday’s drawing, over 213,000 players across the country did win prizes ranging from $2 to $50,000.

Winning Mega Millions Numbers for Friday, Feb. 23:

Winning Numbers: 04  06  40  41  60
Megaball: 11  
Megaplier: 05

The next Mega Millions drawing is on Tuesday, Feb. 27 and the next Powerball drawing, for an estimated jackpot of $376 million, is on Saturday, Feb. 24.