SUGAR LAND, Texas — The land of sugar got a little sweeter after someone who bought the ticket there won the $800 million Mega Millions jackpot!
The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA gas station off Highway 90 in Sugar Land.
The rising prize is a result of a winless streak in the lottery game for more than three months. The jackpot was last won in Illinois on June 4 with a ticket valued at $552 million.
For Tuesday's drawing, the cash option was $404.2 million.
It's a pretty good payday for the gas station that sold it, too. Businesses that sell the winning ticket gets 1% of the winnings -- capped at $1 million.
This is just the third Mega Millions jackpot won this year. Before the Sugar Land winning ticket, one was sold in Illinois and the other was in sold in March in New Jersey. That prize is still unclaimed. Winners in New Jersey have one year to claim their winnings.
Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.
The odds of winning the jackpot are one in more than 302 million. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.
The top Mega Millions jackpot ticket — $1.6 billion — was sold in Florida in August of last year.
Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024
The winning numbers were 1-2-16-24-66, Mega Ball: 6 Megaplier: 4X.
When a winner matches all five numbers and the Mega Ball, they have the option to take the full jackpot paid out as an annuity over 30 years, or a smaller lump sum cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option.
The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is $404.2 million.
Players who match only the first five numbers win at least $1 million.
What time is the Mega Millions drawing?
Mega Millions drawings take place on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
What are the largest US lottery jackpots ever won?
- $2.04 billion: Powerball - Nov. 7, 2022
- $1.76 billion – Powerball - Oct. 11, 2023
- $1.586 billion: Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016
- $1.58 billion: Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023
- $1.537 billion: Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018
- $1.35 billion: Mega Millions - Jan. 13, 2023
- $1.337 billion: Mega Millions - July 29, 2022
- $1.326 billion: Powerball – April, 6, 2024
- $1.13 billion: Mega Millions - March 26, 2024
- $1.08 billion: Powerball – July 19, 2023