Mega Millions jackpot August 8 climbs to $1.55 billion

The Mega Millions climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion Friday night after no ticket matched all six numbers — again.

After 31 consecutive drawings over nearly four months, no players have emerged as the lottery’s top-prize winner. The last time a player hit the jackpot was on April 18 in New York.

The numbers drawn late Friday night were 11, 30, 45, 52, 56, plus the gold ball 20.

The next drawing will take place at 11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, and the estimated jackpot of $1.55 billion could be one for the history books, Mega Millions officials said.

The highest-ever Mega Millions jackpot — a whopping $1.54 billion — was won after a single ticket sold at a grocery store in rural South Carolina matched all six numbers in October 2018.

That was the only time in Mega Millions’ 21-year history that a jackpot paid more than $1.5 billion, and one of four top prizes exceeding $1 billion.

Earlier this year, a lucky player in Maine managed to beat the odds — and the supposed bad luck associated with a Friday the 13th drawing — to win $1.35 billion.

The winner of the largest lottery prize in U.S. history, however, was a Powerball player in California who won $2.04 billion in November 2022.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tickets cost $2 per play, and the odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 302.6 million, according to the lottery.

If a sole winner emerges on Tuesday, that player will have the option to be paid the full amount in 30 annual installments or receive the lump sum cash prize, which is currently estimated at $757.2 million, officials said.