The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to $743 million ahead of Friday night’s drawing, with a cash value of $323.4 million, making it the 10th-largest prize in the game’s history as players across the country checked their tickets against Friday’s winning numbers.

The winning numbers drawn Friday, July 24, were 2, 5, 42, 44, 60 and a gold Mega Ball of 1. Drawings are held twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday at approximately 11 p.m. Eastern time.

A long stretch without a jackpot winner

The last time a player won the Mega Millions jackpot outright was more than three months earlier, when a ticket purchased in Ohio claimed a $60 million prize on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Since then, the jackpot has climbed steadily through repeated rollovers as no ticket has matched all six numbers in the twice-weekly drawings.

That stretch has not been entirely without winners, however. In Tuesday’s drawing preceding Friday’s jackpot, no ticket matched all six numbers for the grand prize, but two players came close to the top prize: one ticket holder in California won $2 million, and another in Arizona won $3 million, both by matching enough numbers to claim a lower-tier prize under the game’s payout structure.

How the numbers compare historically

Friday’s $743 million prize now ranks 10th on the all-time list of largest Mega Millions jackpots, a list still topped by the record $1.602 billion jackpot won in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023. The full top 10 includes $1.537 billion won in South Carolina on Oct. 23, 2018; $1.348 billion won in Maine on Jan. 1, 2023; $1.337 billion won in Illinois on July 29, 2022; $1.269 billion won in California on Dec. 27, 2024; $1.128 billion won in New Jersey on March 26, 2024; $1.05 billion won in Michigan on Jan. 22, 2021; $983 million won in Georgia on Nov. 14, 2025; $810 million won in Texas on Sept. 10, 2024; and Friday’s $743 million prize, with a winner still to be determined.

What winners can choose

Should a single ticket match all six numbers, the winner would face a choice between two payout options: a one-time lump-sum cash payment or an annuitized prize paid out through an initial payment followed by 29 annual installments, each 5% larger than the one before it. Most jackpot winners historically opt for the lump-sum cash payment rather than the long-term annuity structure.

How the game works

Mega Millions is played across 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each ticket costs $5, and players select six numbers across two separate pools: five different numbers from 1 to 70, known as the white balls, and one number from 1 to 24, known as the gold Mega Ball. Players uncertain of their preferred numbers can opt for a “Quick Pick” or “Easy Pick” selection, which lets a terminal generate a random set of numbers on their behalf.

To win the jackpot, a ticket must match all six numbers drawn. In the rare event that more than one ticket matches all six numbers in a single drawing, the jackpot prize is split evenly among the winning tickets.

Mega Millions tickets now come with a built-in multiplier that automatically boosts non-jackpot prize winnings by two, three, four, five or 10 times. That feature replaced the previous system, under which players had to pay an additional dollar to add the optional “Megaplier” to their ticket.

How long winners have to claim a prize

According to Mega Millions, the window for collecting winnings varies by state, typically ranging from 90 days up to a full year from the date of the drawing. Lottery officials encourage players to check with their specific state lottery for the exact claim period that applies to their ticket, since deadlines and procedures are not uniform nationwide.

Where to buy tickets

Mega Millions tickets can be purchased at a range of locations, including convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores. In some states, tickets are also available for purchase online, offering an additional option for players who prefer not to buy in person.

A broader trend in jackpot growth

Friday’s near-record prize continues a broader pattern of increasingly large Mega Millions jackpots in recent years, driven in part by a 2017 overhaul of the game’s number pool that lengthened the odds of winning the jackpot from roughly 1 in 259 million to about 1 in 302.6 million. Longer odds have generally meant more frequent rollovers and, correspondingly, larger jackpots by the time a winning ticket is eventually sold. Rising ticket prices, which moved from $1 to $2 following the 2017 changes and then to the current $5 price point more recently, have also factored into the size of jackpots the game has produced.

Separately, Powerball, Mega Millions’ chief rival among major U.S. lottery games, recently announced a structural change of its own that officials say could allow its jackpots to grow at a faster pace going forward, a shift that could intensify competition between the two games for players chasing the next big prize.

The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Should no ticket match all six numbers in Friday’s drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow heading into that next drawing, potentially climbing further up the list of the game’s largest-ever prizes. Players hoping to check their Friday tickets against the winning numbers, 2, 5, 42, 44, 60 and Mega Ball 1, are encouraged to verify results directly through their state lottery or the official Mega Millions website.