Mega Millions jackpot: What are the winning numbers for Tuesday, April 16?
The Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow, now estimated to be worth $148 million after no one claimed the prize on Friday. Here are tonight’s numbers.
Lottery prizes have been reaching astronomical levels lately in both the Mega Millions and Powerball. However, you must beat astronomical odds to win by holding a ticket that matches all six winning numbers.
The most recent jackpot in excess of the $1 billion dollar mark for the Mega Million lottery was won at the end of March. After being reset to $20 million it has continued to grow in the weeks since, now sitting at $148 million.
What are the winning numbers for Tuesday 16 April?
The winning numbers were not announced at 11 pm ET as scheduled due to a technical delay.
The glitch has been fixed and the winning numbers are: 21-26-36-44-59-and 2.
What are the biggest Mega Millions jackpots ever?
The 8 August 2023 jackpot was only the fifth to have exceeded the $1 billion mark in Mega Millions history at that time, and at $1.58 billion became the biggest to be won since the lottery began.
“There’s always an air of excitement around the country when Mega Millions jackpots soar,” Gretchen Corbin, the lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said. “The growing jackpot is a source of entertainment and winnings for players while generating important dollars for the good causes supported by each lottery.”
The second-largest ever Mega Millions jackpot win was in October 2018, when a player in South Carolina claimed a $1.537 billion prize.
At a glance: the five $1bn-plus Mega Millions jackpots
- $1.58 billion: won on 8 August 2023
- $1.537 billion: won on 23 October 2018
- $1.348 billion: won on 13 January 2023
- $1.337 billion: won on 29 July 2022
- $1.13 billion: won on 26 March 2024
- $1.05 billion: won on 22 January 2021
Mega Millions: how to play
A ticket costs $2. To play, you have to choose six numbers from two separate pools: five ‘white’ numbers between 1 and 70, plus a ‘Mega Ball’ number from 1 to 25. To secure the jackpot, all six numbers must match those that are drawn.
Jackpot winners can receive their money in annual installments (the annuity option) or as a lump sum (the cash option). While annuity recipients get the jackpot in full, those who opt to be paid up front are given a smaller sum. Winnings are pre-tax amounts.
Smaller cash prizes are also available for players who correctly guess some, but not all, of the numbers drawn. In some states, players can pay an extra $1 to multiply non-jackpot winnings by two, three, four or five times, depending on the ‘Megaplier’ number selected before the draw itself.
Tickets are sold in every state in the US except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. You can also play in the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Mega Millions draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT.