US Mega Millions lottery jackpot hits world record US$1.6 billion
● If a player hits all six numbers, they can opt for an immediate cash payment of US$904 million or US$1.6 billion prize over 29 years
The US Mega Millions jackpot grew to US$1.6 billion, a world record for a lottery, after Friday’s drawing produced no winner of the grand prize, officials said.
The next Mega Millions draw will be on Tuesday, after no one hit all of the numbers of 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and the Mega Ball 7 during Friday night’s draw.
“Mega Millions has already entered historic territory, but it’s truly astounding to think that now the jackpot has reached an all-time world record,” Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Group, said in a statement.
The record jackpot level for the statewide US lottery follows a move by the game’s organisers a year ago to lower the odds of winning, to one-in-303 million from one-in-259 million, in an effort to generate larger prizes.
If a player hits all six numbers to win the jackpot, they can opt for an immediate cash payment of US$904 million or receive the US$1.6 billion prize over 29 years.
