WASHINGTON — The Mega Millions jackpot will keep growing after nobody matched six numbers correctly to win the half-a-billion dollar grand prize for Tuesday's drawing, but three lucky players came very close and will take home $1 million each.
Million-dollar tickets matching the first five white balls but not the Mega Ball were sold in California, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The jackpot rises to an estimated $560 million for Friday's drawing.
The prize saw a surge on Tuesday before the drawing thanks to strong ticket sales.
Mega Millions hasn't seen a grand prize winner since April 18, when a 71-year-old man from New York won the state's largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Johnnie Taylor of Howard Beach in Queens, New York, won $476 million but opted for the cash option — a lump sum of more than $157 million after taxes.
Winners almost always take the cash option, but they do have a choice to instead get the full amount in regular payments over 29 years. The cash option for Tuesday's drawing is an estimated $251 million.
Players must match all five white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the jackpot.
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 11, 2023:
The winning numbers were 10-17-33-51-64, MegaBall 5 and 2x Megaplier.
What are the largest lottery jackpots ever won?
1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 8, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
2. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
3. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
4. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
5. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
6. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
7. $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
8. $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
9. $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
10. $699.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 (one ticket, from California)
The game's giant prizes come with miniscule chances of actually winning — winners overcome odds of roughly 1 in 302.6 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.