Mega Millions (USA) Lottery Results & Winning Numbers

• $1.6 billion is the largest jackpot ever paid by Mega Millions.
• The Megaplier option is not available in California.
• In total, 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands play in the Mega Millions lottery.
• The majority of people who checked their Mega Millions results and discovered they were winners come from New York and California.
• Mega Millions was first named Big Game, then The Big Game Mega Millions.
• The first Mega Millions draw on May 17, 2002, resulted in a jackpot win of $28 million. The winner from Illinois was followed by a second jackpot winner the week after.

How to Play Mega Millions?

1. Access our page with the recommended lottery websites and choose one of the brands according to their features and discounts.
2. Complete as many Mega Millions tickets as you wish and add them to your cart.
3. Register an account in less than two minutes, check if there are any bonuses that could be worth using, and proceed to checkout.
4. Save your scanned tickets and return to our page, which you will most probably bookmark, to check the Mega Millions results.

Mega Millions Ticket Cost – How Much is a Mega Millions Ticket?

• $2 per play.
• $1 to add Megaplier.

Advanced Draws

Purchasing tickets in advance can allow players to be ready for the next draws without risking forgetting about them. While each state has a maximum number of Mega Million draws a player can participate in advance, remember our recommended lottery websites offer subscriptions.

How Much Is the Mega Millions Payout After Taxes?

When you see the announced jackpot, keep in mind that the Mega Millions payout structure considers your payout options and local taxes. Therefore, the prize that is announced can be cut in half – which is still a pretty big amount considering the high jackpot in this game. When you opt for the cash option, your prize is deducted at around 40%.

Let us understand the Mega Millions payout structure for a $20 million jackpot, taking a drawing on April 22, 2022, as an example:

(*) Valid for Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, and Mississippi. Check out the taxes on our lottery tax calculator. Some states have no local lottery taxes.

(**) Remaining revenue taxes that are not specific to lotteries.

Therefore, your choice of the Mega Millions payout options can have an enormous impact on how much money you will receive. Regardless, many lottery winners’ stories mention the cash out option, even though the Mega Millions payout after taxes is incredibly lower.

The Top 5 Biggest Mega Millions Winners

1. $1.6 Billion – August 2023 was a happy month for whoever won the prize of $1.6 billion in Mega Millions. The amount was paid to Saltines Holdings, LLC, keeping the winner’s name and future plans in secrecy, resulting in more than $700,000 after discount and taxes.
2. $1.537 Billion – The second place belongs to a Mega Millions winning ticket of almost $1.6 billion that was purchased in South Carolina. More precisely, at the KC Mart in Simpsonville. The draw occurred on October 23, 2018, and it was the first jackpot ever won in South Carolina for a Mega Millions draw.
3. $1.05 Billion – The third-largest Mega Millions jackpot went to a player from Michigan thanks to the draw on January 22, 2021. Whoever won it is most probably making plans for after the pandemic, with enough money to make their family financially independent.
4. $656 Million – Three tickets shared the prize on March 30, 2012. Although the winners remained anonymous, there is a fun story about Denise Metzger, manager of the convenience store that sold one of the tickets. She even woke up her husband to tell the news, as the retailer receives $500,000 for selling the ticket.
5. $648 Million – Steve Tran may never need to work as a delivery driver anymore. The drawing that was held on December 17, 2013, also went to Ira Curry, who decided to receive a lump-sum of $173.8 million after taxes, thanks to her ticket based on the birthday dates of her family.

Mega Millions History

There is a lot of history behind all Mega Millions results, and the lottery game had to go through several modifications to become what we play today.

• September 1996 – Launched The Big Game with six participating states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia) and one draw per week on Fridays. Its first matrix was 5/50 + 1/25.
• February 1998 – Tuesday became a second draw day.
• 1999 – New Jersey became part of the group. The matrix was modified to 5/50 + 1/36, and cash payout became an option.
• May 2002 – The Big Game became The Big Game Mega Millions, and then Mega Millions. Its first draw with the new name occurred on the 17th of May. In addition, three new states entered the game (New York, Ohio, and Washington), and the matrix was updated to 5/52 + 1/52.
• 2003 – Texas started to sell tickets and launched the Megaplier alone.
• 2005 – California became part of the group, and the matrix was updated to 5/56 + 1/46.
• 2005 – 2010 – Other 23 states started to sell Mega Millions tickets. Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands joined the game.
• 2011 – Louisiana started to sell tickets, and the Megaplier finally became available in all jurisdictions except California.
• 2013 – Florida starts to sell tickets, and the game is updated to the matrix of 5/75 + 1/15.
• 2014 – Tickets can be bought in Wyoming.
• 2017 – Matrix updated to 5/70 + 1/25, with a starting jackpot of $40 million.
• 2020 – Mississippi decided to start selling the tickets, and the guaranteed minimum jackpot and rollover were removed due to the pandemic. It now depends on the sales of tickets and the interest rates.