Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $149 Million For Friday’s Drawing

The Mega Millions number were drawn on Tuesday with no winners, meaning the jackpot will reach $149 million for Friday’s drawing.

The winning numbers selected Tuesday were 20, 30, 32, 42 and 71, with the Mega Ball number of 14. No winners successfully picked all five numbers and the Mega Ball, though one ticket in New York matched the first five numbers to win a $1 million prize.

Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing used the multi state lottery’s new Mega Millions matrix, which added more numbers for the first five selections and gave participants more chances to win. The number of balls in the pool for the Mega Ball selection were also dereased.

The changes may spread out more winners, but will also make for bigger Mega Millions jackpots.

Mega Millions in played in 43 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. Tickets are $1 each.

In March 2012, a record $656 million jackpot was awarded, with winners in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland. This year there have been 12 winning tickets sold nationwide with total winnings reaching $711 million. For whatever reason, a majority of winning tickets this year were purchased in New Jersey.

This week is a good one for aspiring lottery winners. As the Mega Millions jackpot nears $150 million, the Powerball jackpot has also climbed to $130 million.

There were no winners from Wednesday’s drawing, but the lottery’s website noted that one ticket buyer in Florida and another in Louisiana won $1 million Match Five prizes. There was a total of $5.5 million in non-jackpot prizes based on Wednesday’s drawing

The winning Powerball numbers were: 05-31-50-55-56, Powerball: 9

The next Mega Millions drawing will take place Friday at 11 pm EST.