Topline
The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $650 million after no tickets matched all the numbers Friday, putting the prize in the top 10 in Mega Millions’ history, with the next drawing scheduled for Tuesday.
Lottery tickets for the Mega Millions lottery are purchased from a liquor store where winning tickets have been sold on December 27, 2024 in Hawthorne, California. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
The six numbers drawn Friday were 9, 21, 27, 48 and 56, along with a “Mega Ball” of 10.
If a winner emerges in the next drawing, they will have the option of taking the $650 million prize spread over 30 annualized payments of $21.7 million or a one-time cash prize of $304.1 million, which is the much more popular option.
An automatic 24% federal withholding would be applied to winnings, but a winner would almost certainly face a 37% federal tax rate as part of the highest tax bracket, which would reduce the annualized payment to $13.7 million and the cash prize to $191.6 million.
Most states also apply taxes to lottery winnings, further bringing down the take-home pay, though a handful—like Texas and California—do not.
The jackpot has been growing for three-and-a-half months, and Tuesday’s drawing will be the 33rd for this jackpot.
Tangent
The next Powerball drawing is Saturday night, with an estimated $295 million jackpot with a cash value of $140.3 million.
Big Number
1 in 290,472,336. Those are the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot.
Key Background
The last top 10 Mega Millions jackpot was won in December, when a winner from California won the $1.3 billion prize. The biggest prize, $1.6 billion, was claimed in August 2023 by a winner from Florida.
Further Reading
Mega Millions Jackpot Rises To $625 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Could Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/10/18/mega-millions-jackpot-rises-to-650-million-heres-how-much-the-winner-could-take-home-after-taxes/
