HOUSTON – A lucky Texan may not have hit the Mega Millions jackpot, but they won $1 million from a ticket sold in Houston for Tuesday night’s drawing.
The Texas Lottery said the $1 million Mega Millions ticket was sold at the All-Season Food at 3411 Antoine Drive. The ticket matched all five numbers drawn — 24, 46, 49, 62 and 66 — but not the Mega Ball of 7.
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The customer did not choose the Megaplier option, which would have doubled earnings.
The estimated jackpot was $893 million with a cash prize of $421.4 million. Three other people won $1 million each in California, Virginia and Florida, according to the Associated Press.
Now, with no winners, the Mega Millions jackpot has reached $977 million. The cash prize for Friday’s drawing is $461 million.
It’s 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.
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.