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Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $1 Billion for Friday’s Drawing

The Mega Millions jackpot hit $1 billion ahead of Friday’s drawing. It is only the third time in lottery history that a jackpot hit the $1 billion mark. The current Mega Millions record is $1.536 billion, sold in October 2018.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302.5 million. Your odds of getting struck by lightning are about one in 500,000.

Think it can’t happen here? In February 2012, Newport, RI resident Louise White won a $336 million Powerball jackpot, the third largest Powerball jackpot at the time. She purchased the winning ticket at Stop & Shop on Bellevue Avenue.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.