The Mega Millions lottery is currently offering a staggering $785 million jackpot, making it the fourth-largest total in the lottery's history. The last winning drawing was in October, and since then, 41 tickets have won $1 million or more across 18 states. The most recent drawing on December 30 saw 2,776,599 winning tickets, with prizes ranging from $2 up to $1 million.
The highest jackpot ever won was a staggering $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November, surpassing an all-time record of $1.59 billion set by the lottery in 2016. However, the biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was an impressive $1.537 billion in 2018. The next drawing for Mega Millions will take place on January 3, and the cash option for the jackpot winnings is estimated at $395 million.
Lottery winners have the option to choose the cash lump sum before taxes or take the full prize under a 30-year payment plan. It remains to be seen if the Mega Millions jackpot will continue to grow or if another January win is in the cards.