Winning numbers announced for $685 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing

The estimated jackpot for the Mega Millions jackpot rose to $685 million ahead of Friday night's drawing, lottery officials said. The winning numbers Friday were 1, 3, 6, 44 and 51, with a "Mega Ball" of 7.

It was still unclear if any winning tickets were sold.     

The $685 million would be the fourth-largest winning jackpot in Mega Millions history, according to the lottery's website. The cash option would be at least $347.8 million.

The last time a Mega Millions jackpot was won was on Oct. 14, when two tickets sold in California and Florida shared a $502 million prize, according to the release.

There have been 21 drawings since then.  

This past July, a ticket sold in Illinois won the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, a whopping $1.337 billion. Mega Millions' largest ever jackpot was $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina in October 2018.

Last month, a single winning Powerball ticket was sold in California for a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in lottery history.

The $640 million is what a winner who takes the annuity option would get. That's paid out over 30 annual installments. But winners usually choose the cash option.

Federal taxes are taken out and, depending on where the winner lives, state taxes are, too.

And jackpots are split when more than one winning ticket is sold.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are a staggering one in 302.6 million.  

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In:
• Mega Millions
• Lottery

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