Mega Millions Winning Numbers May 26: Watch $214 Million Jackpot Drawing Live Online
If you have the Mega Millions winning numbers for May 26, you can retire early. With a $214 million jackpot up for grabs, it may be worth the $1 investment for a chance to be an instant multi-millionaire.
The numbers will be drawn at Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET, so get your ticket ready and watch the Mega Millions jackpot drawing live on your iPhone or Android smartphone by downloading the free LotteryHUB app.
UPDATE: The winning Mega Millions numbers for May 26 are: 1, 31, 52, 69, 72 MB 12, Megaplier: 4
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there hasn’t been a Mega Millions jackpot winner since March 24, when a group of 16 co-workers at a New York biopharmaceutical company split a $59-million grand prize. The lucky winners all received checks for approximately $1.65 million each, before taxes.
After 17 drawings with no winner, what are the odds that someone will match all five numbers and the Mega Ball in tonight’s drawing? If you buy a single ticket, the odds are approximately 1 in 259 million that you have the winning ticket. According to the International Wildlife Museum, you have a better chance of getting killed by a shark (1 in 3.7 million), or getting struck and killed by a bolt of lightning (1 in 79,746).
Odds aside, there have been plenty of Mega Millions jackpot winners since the multi-state lottery game started back in 1996. While tonight’s $214 million jackpot is impressive, it has a ways to go to beat the record for the world’s biggest lottery jackpot prize. On March 30, 2012, a jackpot of $656 million was split between three lucky ticket holders in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland.
Other super-sized Mega Millions jackpots include the following.
- $648 million — December 17, 2013 (two winners)
- $414 million — March 18, 2014 (two winners)
- $390 million — March 6, 2007 (two winners)
- $380 million — January 4, 2011 (two winners)
- $336 million — August 28, 2009 (two winners)
If someone wins tonight’s $214 million Mega Millions jackpot, they can choose to receive their winnings in a lump sum, or in a 30-year annuity. According to USA Mega, the lump sum amount for a single winning ticket is approximately $98 million after federal taxes. The annuity amount would be $5.4 million per year, with a 5 percent yearly cost of living increase.
State taxes apply to lottery prizes in all but nine states — California, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Check this list to find a lottery retailer near you. Tickets are $1 each, with an additional $1 charged if you choose the Megaplier option that multiplies the value of non-jackpot prizes.
[Image: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]
