The Mega Millions lottery drawing was scheduled for Friday night with a jackpot of $157 million and a cash option of $94.4 million. A lucky person might get to start their weekend with an exciting lottery win after the 11 p.m. EST drawing Friday night.
The drawings are held in Atlanta and the winning numbers are posted online shortly after the drawing. Local television channels broadcast the drawing and there is also a live stream online for those without cable tv.
Watch the Mega Millions drawing live online here from WSB-TV:
Tickets could be purchased up to an hour or two hours before the drawing was scheduled for depending on the state. Different states have different cutoff times for buying tickets. Other aspects of the lottery vary as well. Whether or not jackpot winners can remain anonymous to the public varys from state to state as well, as does the amount of time jackpot winners have to claim their prize.
Winning tickets have to match the five white balls numbered between one and 70 and the one yellow ball numbered between one and 25. Tickets that match the five white balls but not the yellow one still win one million dollars, if they have the Megaplier they win even more.
The Megaplier is available in most states and multiplies winnings by two, three, four or five. It costs an extra dollar to get the Megaplier on a ticket and it multiples any winnings that aren't the jackpot.
Mega Millions is played in all 44 states as well was Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's not played in Nevada, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi and Alabama. Those who live in Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina or North Dakota can register with their lotteries and buy tickets online. In New York and Virginia, residents can buy subscriptions to their lotteries.
Any winnings are subject to income tax and winners have to choose either a cash payout or an annual payout option. Lost tickets can not be replaced and winners should be sure to sign the back of their tickets so that only they can cash it, according to Mega Millions. Unclaimed prize money is treated differently in each state.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nina was a breaking news reporter. She previously worked at Business Insider, The Boston Globe, and Boston.com.
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
