Drawing set for 10 p.m. on Friday
People are expected to start flocking to Florida after nobody matched the Mega Millions numbers Tuesday night with an estimated grand prize of $910 million that could swell to $1 billion before Friday night’s drawing.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Alabama is not one of the states participating.
The game, then called ‘The Big Game’, began in 1996 with Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia as the participating states.
The Mega Millions pot has increased since the last jackpot winner in April. Tuesday night’s numbers were 3, 5, 6, 44, 61 with the Mega Ball being 25. Friday night’s drawing will be the fifth largest Lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
To play, pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and a Mega Ball from 1 to 25. Each ticket is $2. Players can add an extra $1 for the Megaplier that increases the non-jackpot winnings. Tuesday night’s Megaplier was 4, meaning if someone had hit five of five numbers, but not the Mega Ball, they would have won $4 million. One Florida resident hit four of five numbers and the Mega Ball and will collect $40,000 with the Megaplier.
Friday night’s drawing will be held at 10 p.m. central time, but the cutoff to play is 9:30 p.m.
