Mega Millions jackpot hits $977 million after no winner Tuesday night

The Mega Millions jackpot has reached an estimated $977 million after there was no winner in Tuesday night’s drawing. 

This is just the sixth time in the game’s nearly 22-year history that the jackpot has reached this level. Only five jackpots exceeding $1 billion have been higher.

Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded five jackpots exceeding $1 billion, all in different states. South Carolina was the first in 2018, followed by Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, Maine in early 2023 and Florida last August.

The odds of winning any lottery jackpot are very slim. Mega Millions players have a 1 in 302.6 million chance of taking home the top prize.

Last night’s Mega Millions numbers 

The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday were 24, 46, 49, 62, 66 and the gold Mega Ball was 7.  The estimated jackpot was $893 million with a cash prize of $421.4 million. 

The cash prize for Friday's drawing is $461 million.

Four people won $1 million each in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida, lottery officials said.

When are Mega Millions drawings?

FILE - A Mega Millions lottery ticket in New York City on Aug. 8, 2023. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET.

Tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Five white balls are drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 70, and one gold "Mega Ball" is drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 25. Players win if the numbers on one row of the Mega Millions ticket match the numbers of the balls drawn.

The game has prizes that range from $2 to the big jackpot prize. 

If no one wins the jackpot, the money is added to the jackpot for the next drawing. 

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.