Despite the Friday the 13th superstitions, millions of people went to their local convenience stores to purchase their Mega Millions tickets. The superstition must hold true because there were no winners during Friday night’s drawing.
“Won’t it be fun if we have a huge lottery winner on Friday the 13th?” said Paula Otto, the Virginia Lottery’s executive director and Mega Millions’ lead director. “I always say there are no unlucky numbers in the lottery. I work on the 13th floor of our building. I like 13.”
Now, once again, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to a whopping $550 million, the fourth largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. This makes the twentieth time that the Mega Millions jackpot has rolled over so far, and if someone had matched all six numbers (19-24-26-27-70, Mega Ball: 12), they would have had the cash option of $228 million before taxes.
Otto believes that if no one hits the jackpot soon, that it could reach $1 billion by Christmas. “We’ve never had a jackpot at this level in December leading into the holidays,” Otto said. “If we keep rolling, we could well be at a billion dollars going into Christmas.”
Although no one hit the jackpot, nine people matched five numbers and won $1 million each. Those tickets were sold in Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey and two apiece in Florida, Michigan and New York.
$550 MILLION #MEGAMILLIONS HUGE JACKPOT to WIN on Tuesday !!!
The 4th-largest United States lottery jackpot of all time !
— Mega Millions (@MegaMillionslot) December 14, 2013
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each ticket costs one dollar. The next drawing will be held on Tuesday, December 17.
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