Mega Millions winning numbers for this Friday's draw are to be revealed soon. The six lucky numbers of the winning ticket will be announced at exactly 11 p.m. EST this Friday, May 30, 2014. Hundreds of millions of players are tuning in tonight for the drawing of the Mega Millions winning numbers, now that the jackpot prize is back to US$26M after the May 20 Mega Millions draw has produced a winner for the $149 Mega Millions jackpot. The ticket was reportedly sold near Pittsburgh. Today's $26 Mega Millions jackpot has a lump-sum cash value of $14 million.
With one ticket holder matching the winning Mega Millions numbers on May 20 and winning the $149 million Mega Millions jackpot, people across the nation are getting more excited to grab the jackpot prize of US$26 million in the multi-state Mega Millions. According to the Mega Millions official website, the winning ticket of the $149 million Mega Millions jackpot on May 20 was purchased at White Oak Gas & Grocery, in McKeesport, Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh.
The winning ticket matched all five white balls, 10-40-63-64-69, plus the Megaball, 07. The ticket has an annuity value of $149 million or a cash value of $86.1 million, while the retailer will receive a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
This is reportedly the Pennsylvania Lottery's first jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket since joining the multi-state game in 2010. The Pennsylvania Lottery has already sold 17 jackpot-winning Powerball tickets since joining that multi-state game in 2002.
The Mega Millions jackpot had been progressing since the last jackpot was won in Los Angeles, California on April 5.
The person who matched the winning Mega Millions numbers on April 5, 2014 won a $30 million jackpot.
The winner of the $30 Mega Millions jackpot has already come forward to claim as reported by the official Mega Millions website:
"A $30 million jackpot has been won by a lucky player or players in California, as a single ticket matched all six numbers drawn in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing - 1, 10, 15, 41, 54 and the Mega Ball of 9. The winning ticket was purchased at the Century City 76, 10389 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. Two Match 5 tickets were also sold in the April 4 drawing, one each in California and Georgia."
The site also reported on the Mega Millions winner of the $414 Mega Millions jackpot last March 19, adding:
"Maryland is once again the home of a Mega Millions jackpot after selling one of the winning tickets for last night's drawing. The winning ticket, which was sold at Lady's Liquors located at 6474 Crain Highway in La Plata, matched all six numbers including the Mega Ball. The $414 million jackpot has a cash option of $230.9 million."
The two Mega Millions winning tickets were sold nationwide after taxes and the Maryland Mega Millions winners will take home approximately $76.4 million if they choose the cash option. For selling the winning Mega Millions ticket, Maryland will receive more than $10.1 million in tax revenue.
On May 6, Maryland Lottery officials said the second winner of a $414 million Mega Millions jackpot has already come forward. According to officials, the Maryland resident has chosen to remain anonymous and claimed the prize from the March Mega Millions drawing quietly late last week.
A Florida couple meanwhile came forward to claim their half of the Mega Millions jackpot last week as well. The Mega Millions winning couple reportedly said, "You have to play your lucky numbers." The lottery officials also said that the Maryland winners chose the Mega Millions cash option and will receive $76.4 million after taxes. The state will receive more than $10.1 million in tax revenue and Lady's Liquors in La Plata, the store where the Mega Millions winning ticket was sold, will receive a $100,000 agent bonus.
There was also a $1 million second-tier winning ticket sold at
Waterbury Liquors located at 1021 Generals Highway in Crownsville in addition to the big Mega Millions winners. The 1-million Mega Millions second-tier winner matched the first five winning numbers, missing only the Mega Ball.
This year the Mega Millions lottery game is producing more and more winners and more people are graced with the Mega Millions jackpot prizes.
The month of April has also brought in two Mega Millions winners of $1 million dollars. They are from Charlotte, North Carolina and Westland, Missouri, both on April 1. So far, this year has brought in 15 Mega Millions winners of $1 million. The year has produced four $1 million Mega Millions second-tier tickets sold in Maryland.
Meanwhile, tonight's Powerball game jackpot has grown to US$173 million with the cash value of US$102 million as the March 22 draw produced winners in Missouri. According to the Powerball website, the Powerball winners John and Susan Brands won US$55,351,107.35 in cash.
As the Mega Millions game continues to produce jackpot winners of its players, the Mega Millions jackpot continues to rise, and so ticket sales have also skyrocketed for the game. The Arizona lottery officials are anticipating as much as 5,000 additional Mega Millions ticket sales today following Tuesday's draw.
Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto said on the sales of Mega Millions tickets: "The vast majority of our sales happen the day of the drawing." The executive director also shared that Mega Millions ticket sales dramatically increase as the date of the draw gets nearer. This is also because most Americans like to buy Mega Millions tickets at the last minute. She also explained that most people follow the draws and estimate the final jackpot first before purchasing the Mega Millions tickets.
The winning numbers for the Mega Millions Friday draw were 01-06-10-46-58. The Gold Mega Ball is 13, while the Megaplier is 02. As the Mega Millions jackpot rises and continues to be won for the Mega Millions game, so are the sales of the tickets, especially as it reaches a whopping $26 million or more, according to lottery experts.
Director of Budget, Products, and Communication for Arizona Lottery Karen Bach said that although ticket sales for Mega Millions have undeniably increased, the odds of winning remain the same for tonight's Mega Millions drawing. Everyone's luck will be tested in today's draw, with only the lucky winning six numbers eligible to take home the mind-blowing Mega Millions jackpot prize of US$26 million.
Mega Millions Tickets are sold in 42 states including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands for only $1, so it won't be surprising if we will be having a winner or a group of winners after tonight's Mega Millions draw.
In order to play and win the Mega Millions jackpot prize of $26 million on May 30, a player must choose six numbers; five of which are from 1 to 75 while the remaining one is referred to as the Mega Ball and is only chosen from 1 to 15. If all of the numbers on the ticket of the player are the same digits flashed after the Mega Millions draw, then he or she will be bringing home the total jackpot prize. It's harder than it looks however, because lottery officials say that the overall likelihood of winning the Mega Millions jackpot prize is 1 in over 259 million, while the odds of winning any prize at all is 1 in 14.7. On the other hand, there are also second-place prizes for tickets with five winning numbers. The second place prize is $1 million.
The Mega Millions winning numbers are drawn every Tuesday and Friday at around 10:45 p.m. EST. Official results of the day's draw are posted shortly after 11 p.m. EST on the main webpage of the Mega Millions Lottery. Winnings are delivered in two options: one-time cash payment or in 30 separate payments.
If no one matches all six Mega Millions winning numbers in today's drawing, the next Mega Millions jackpot will most likely go over the $30 million mark by the time the next drawing rolls around on Tuesday, June 3.
For Mega Millions players, you can check out today's Mega Millions winning numbers draw through this free live stream link. You can also catch the direct results for tonight's Mega Millions draw through this link here.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
