Winning numbers drawn for Mega Millions' $977M jackpot

Check your tickets! 

The winning numbers for the Mega Millions’ $977 million jackpot were 3, 8, 31, 35 and 44 and the gold Mega Ball was 16. The Megaplier was 3x.  

No one has won the game’s jackpot since Dec. 8, a string of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game’s six numbers. That has enabled the jackpot to slowly grow, week after week. 

The $977 million prize is for the sole winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for a cash payment, which for Friday’s drawing would be an estimated $461 million. 

Friday's jackpot ranks as the 10th largest in U.S. lottery history — about half the size of a record $2.04 billion Powerball prize won in November 2022.

FILE - A woman fills out a Mega Millions lottery ticket.

Tuesday’s winning 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. 

When are Mega Millions drawings?

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. 

The Associated Press and Kelly Hayes contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.