Two people in Illinois purchased winning second-tier tickets in likely attempts to win the then-$1 billion jackpot.
While they came short, they join 13 other winners that could be awarded at least $1 million after matching five of six numbers (not the Mega Ball). One person in Texas could have the winning ticket for the $2 million Megaplier prize, according to a Mega Millions press release. Other second-tier winners purchased tickets in California, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. New York, where there were four winners, had the most $1 million tickets drawn.
The winning numbers for the October 19 drawing were the white balls 15, 23, 53, 65 and 70, plus the gold Mega Ball 7, a release said.
The Mega Millions jackpot continues to break records, reaching an estimated $1.6 billion after no winning ticket was drawn Friday. It’s the largest jackpot ever, edging past a 2016 Powerball drawing that held the previous record for $1.586 billion.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing since the last winners – a small office pool in California – were awarded $543 million. There have been 25 consecutive drawings without a winner, Mega Millions said. The staggering jackpot earnings come with a price of outrageously slimmer odds. In October 2017, Mega Millions lottery officials made adjustments to the potential number combinations to decrease the chances of winning its biggest prize.
Mega Millions also made it easier to win across its nine game levels.
The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday.
