GENERAL NEWS

Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $785M after no big winner

Jan 1, 2023, 4:00 PM
A person holds a Mega Millions lottery ticket in Tempe, Ariz., Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. The jackpot f...

A person holds a Mega Millions lottery ticket in Tempe, Ariz., Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. The jackpot for the Friday drawing is estimated at $640 million. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The first Mega Millions drawing of the new year will be a big one after no one won an estimated $685 million jackpot.

No ticket purchased for the lottery matched all six numbers drawn Friday night, Mega Millions said in a statement early Saturday. The top prize increased to $785 million ahead of the next drawing Tuesday night.

The numbers selected Friday were: 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 and gold Mega Ball 7.

The jackpot has grown so large thanks to long odds of one in 302.6 million that have resulted in 22 straight drawings without a big winner.

The estimated $785 million prize is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing would be an estimated $395 million.

The jackpot is the largest since a $2.04 billion Powerball prize was won Nov. 8 in California. A winner hasn’t been announced for that record-setting payout.

“On only three previous occasions has the Mega Millions jackpot gone beyond $700 million, and all three times those rolls continued on past $1 billion,” Mega Millions said.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


              FILE - A customer fills out a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a convenience store in Northbrook, Ill., on Jan. 6, 2021.  Lottery players will have a chance to ring in the New Year with a $640 million bonus in their bank account as a drawing is held Friday, Dec. 30, 2022  in the Mega Million game. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
            
              A person holds a Mega Millions lottery ticket in Tempe, Ariz., Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. The jackpot for the Friday drawing is estimated at $640 million. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

General News

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks to reporters before the MockCon event at University Chapel ...
Associated Press

AP sources: Judge rules Pence must testify before grand jury

A federal judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
2 days ago
(Photo by Christian Thompson/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)...
Associated Press

38 dead in fire at migrant detention center Mexican border city

The toll: 38 dead in all and 28 seriously injured, victims of a blaze apparently set in protest by the detainees themselves.
2 days ago
Taowen Le, a Weber State University professor of information systems and technologies, speaks durin...
Associated Press

Amid strained U.S. ties, China finds unlikely friend in Utah

  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — China’s influence policy has blossomed in a surprising place: Utah, a deeply religious and conservative state with few obvious ties to the world’s most powerful communist country. An investigation by the Associated Press has found that China and its U.S.-based advocates spent years building relationships with the state’s officials […]
3 days ago
FILE - A Twitter logo hangs outside the company's offices in San Francisco, on Dec. 19, 2022. Willi...
Associated Press

Twitter celebs balk at paying Elon Musk for blue check mark

  William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform. They could get the marks back by paying up to $11 a month. But some longtime users, including 92-year-old […]
3 days ago
This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows officers at an active shooter ev...
Associated Press

Nashville shooter who killed 6 drew maps, surveilled school

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former student shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school and killed three children and three adults after elaborately planning the massacre by drawing out a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building, police said. The massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville was the latest in a […]
3 days ago
William Barnes talks about the damage to his property on Saturday, March 25, 2023 in Silver City, M...
Associated Press

Daunting recovery underway in tornado-devastated Mississippi

Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the U.S. after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction across a long swath of Mississippi.
4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Prep the plumbing in your home just in time for the holidays

With the holidays approaching, it's important to know when your home is in need of heating and plumbing updates before more guests start to come around.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $785M after no big winner