The Mega Millions jackpot is soaring to new heights, now hitting $625 million, after no one managed to snag the grand prize during Tuesday's drawing. As stated by WBNS, this marks the continuation of a dry spell with the jackpot having avoided capture for a whopping 31 consecutive drawings. This latest surge makes it one of the rare times—the 11th to be exact—that the Mega Millions pot has bloated to $600 million or more without finding a winner.
Despite no grand prize winner, two tickets still hit a stroke of luck, matching the five white ball numbers. These tickets, one sold in Arizona and the other at U-Pak-M in South Austin, Texas, are now worth $2 million each. The presence of these nearly-lucky winners was reported by both APP and WBNS. The estimated cash value of the jackpot was $277.2 million before this drawing, but has since jumped to $288.8 million for anyone lucky enough to hit all the winning numbers.
The winning numbers for yesterday's, Oct. 14, drawing were 12, 22, 49, 57, and 58, with a Mega Ball of 19, as detailed by multiple outlets, including APP and The Enquirer. Hopeful participants will have their next shot at the jackpot during the upcoming drawing on Friday, held at 11 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday, as noted by these publications.
Interestingly, the extraordinary jackpot comes in the wake of increased ticket prices—from $2 to $5—that started in April. Accompanying this price hike is a slight improvement in the odds of winning. A change that's thanks to one less gold Mega Ball in the mix, taking the tally down from 25 to 24 and giving players a one in 290,472,336 chance of hitting the jackpot, an improvement from the previous one in 302,575,350 odds. This change was chronicled by WBNS.
