Friday’s $520 million Mega Millions jackpot 8th largest in history

PHOENIX — There’s a chance that one lucky person might walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars on Friday night.

That’s because Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot has reached $520 million, the eighth-largest sum in the game’s history.

The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots this week are the largest combined jackpots since the coronavirus pandemic started with a grand total of $980 million, according to a press release.

The sum for the two games is the largest total since October 2018, when Mega Millions reached an all-time jackpot record of $1.537 billion.

Friday’s drawing will be the 33rd one since the last jackpot winner was chosen. The all-time record for consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner is 35, set in July 2016, the release said.

Arizonans have had their fair share of luck in the game of-late, with a convenience store in Glendale selling a $410 million jackpot-winning ticket in June.

The last Mega Millions winner nationally was on Sept. 15 in Racine, Wisconsin, when someone won the $120 million jackpot.

In the interim, some 27 people have won second-tier tickets worth $1 million or more with an additional 476 participants winning third-tier prizes of $10,000 or more, the release said.

Whoever wins Friday’s jackpot will have the option of taking home $383.4 million in a lump sum payment or via an annuity that pays one immediate payment and annual sums that increase by 5% per year for 29 years.

Friday’s drawing will be held at 9 p.m. Arizona time.

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