Mega Millions Jackpot Jumps to $970 Million — and You Can Buy Tickets with This App

Georgia Slater

January 20, 2021 at 11:23 a.m.·2 min read

CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A Mega Million ticket

The Mega Millions jackpot is nearing the $1 billion mark for the third time in history.

The jackpot for Friday's drawing now stands at $970 million, or $716.3 million cash, after no one matched all six numbers in Tuesday night's drawing.

If a lucky winner secures the jackpot on Friday, they will win the second-largest prize in the game's history, according to Mega Millions. The drawing "will be the 37th draw in the current jackpot run," which matches the longest roll in the game's history.

While the winnings are certainly massive, they still wouldn't be as big as the current Mega Millions record, which stands at $1.537 billion, according to the lottery. That prize was won by someone in South Carolina in 2018, and remains the world's largest lotto prize ever awarded on a single ticket.

Though no one matched all the numbers on Tuesday, more than 5 million people won prizes on some level, including 11 tickets that matched five white balls and won at least $1 million.

No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since September, when a player in Wisconsin won $120 million.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Mega Millions ticket

Despite the potential for some big winnings, there are still Powerball tickets that have awarded even more in prize money. Two Powerball jackpots were previously worth $768.4 million and $758.7 million when someone won, while the biggest ever was worth $1.586 billion. That prize was won five years ago by three different people.

Thanks to the new mobile app Jackpocket, people who want to play the lottery without having to leave home now have the opportunity to do so.

The app, which is gaining momentum with consumers, allows people to safely purchase tickets from their mobile devices. According to the app's website, Jackpocket is the first and only officially licensed third-party lottery app in the U.S.

Jackpocket includes options to play games like Powerball, Mega Millions and more. After picking your game and numbers, Jackpocket will buy a ticket for you from an official lottery retailer and send a scan of the ticket to the app under your name.

According to the app, winnings under $600 will go straight to your Jackpocket account and the company will never take a percentage of your winnings.

Those interested in playing Friday's drawing, which is set to take place at 11 p.m. ET, can learn more information here.

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