WASHINGTON — The Mega Millions winner drought has extended to 23 straight drawings after nobody matched all six numbers Tuesday night.
The $785 million jackpot for Tuesday night's drawing was the largest since someone in California won a record $2.04 billion Powerball prize on Nov. 8. It now rises to an estimated $940 million ahead of Friday's drawing.
The winning numbers for Tuesday, Jan. 3 were 25-29-33-41-44 and Mega Ball 18. The Megaplier was 4X.
While nobody won the grand prize, six people matched the first five numbers to win at least $1 million. Players in Maryland, Texas and Virginia won $1 million; three players in Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota won the million-dollar prize with the Megaplier, for a total win of $4 million each.
That eye-poppingly huge jackpot is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for a single, lump-sum cash payout.
The next drawing is Friday, Jan. 6.
The big prize is the sixth-largest jackpot in U.S. history. No one has matched all six of the game's numbers for more than two months. There have been 23 straight drawings without a big winner, which is little surprise considering the odds of a grand prize win are just one in 302.6 million.
Lottery players saw several chances for a huge jackpot win in 2022. In addition to the $2 billion Powerball, Mega Millions also crossed the billion-dollar mark last July.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
2. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
3. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
4. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
5. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
6. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
7. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
8. $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
9. $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)
10. $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.