The Mega Millions drawing is now up to $843 million, the eighth largest jackpot of all time.
The Nov. 7 drawing “will be the 38th drawing since the jackpot was last won in Virginia on June 27,” a press release from the lottery said. “It’s the longest streak without a jackpot winner since the game began in 2002; the previous record of 37 drawings was set January 22, 2021, when a $1.050 billion jackpot was won in Michigan.”
November historically hasn’t been a lucky month for the Mega Million, with no one winning a November jackpot in nearly a decade.
“It has been a while since the Mega Millions jackpot was won during November; the last time was in 2016. Since the game began in 2002, though, there have been 16 jackpots won during the month; the largest to date was a $326 million prize won in New York on November 4, 2014,” a press release from Mega Million said.
But even if you don’t win the jackpot, that doesn’t mean you won’t win something. While no one claimed the jackpot on the Halloween drawing, 557,912 winning tickets were sold, with about $10.9 million in payouts.
Here’s what to know if you want to try your luck?
The next drawing is Friday, Nov. 7 at 11 p.m.
With the jackpot being an estimated $843 million, the cash payout would be $391.7 million cash.
At $843 million, the jackpot is the eighth largest in the history of the game.
It’s the largest jackpot since last December, when a California ticket won a $1.269 billion jackpot.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays from Atlanta. You can watch them on the official Mega Millions YouTube channel.
If no one wins, the jackpot will continue to grow.
According to the game’s website, “Players may pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers – five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 24 (the gold Mega Ball) – or select Easy Pick/Quick Pick. You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing. In the event of multiple jackpot winners, the jackpot prize will be shared.”
There are other prizes in addition to the jackpot. The smallest prize to win is $10.
Mega Millions tickets are $5 each and can be played in 45 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets can be purchased until 10:45 p.m. on the night of a given drawing.