Mega Millions Numbers: No Fireworks In July 4 Drawing, Jackpot Now $25 Million
No fireworks for Mega Millions this July 4, as the nationwide lottery, which has already awarded seven jackpots to eight different winners in 2014, saw no big winner and not even any second-prize winners in the holiday drawing.
The Independence Day Mega Millions drawing was the 53rd of the year, and saw less than $1.5 million awarded overall. One week ago, when a single ticket in Texas won a $33 million jackpot, the nationwide lottery also gave away more than $1.8 million in other prizes, also without giving away a second-prize.
The second-prize in Mega Millions is won by matching the first five numbers drawn, but missing out on the Mega Ball number. The standard cash payout for hitting the “Match 5” is a flat $1 million before taxes.
While the $33 million Mega Millions jackpot won last Friday in Texas remains unclaimed, which is not unusual after just one week, another big lottery winner in Texas completely missed out.
Some unidentified person who won a $12 million jackpot in the statewide Lotto Texas drawing on New Year’s Day this year, let a deadline of Monday, June 30, come and go without turning in the winning ticket. Texas lottery winners have six months to redeem winning tickets.
The chances of hitting the six-number Lotto Texas jackpot are just one in 25,827,165. Those odds are better than some statewide lotteries — The California Super Lotto, for example, is a 42 million to one shot — but worse than others, such as the 14 million to one odds seen in both the Ohio Classic Lotto and Massachusetts Megabucks games.
Nonetheless, the now-defunct unclaimed Lotto Texas jackpot was one of only two won this year.
The unclaimed money goes back into the state budget, with most of the cash allocated for schools. The missed prize was the state’s third-largest unclaimed award since Texas started the Lotto Texas game in 1992.
If you won any money in the July 4 Mega Millions drawing, make sure you claim it. Keep your ticket in a safe place if the numbers it displays match one of the other seven winning combinations of the following numbers, drawn at 10:59 pm in Atlanta, Georgia.
16 — 33 — 39 — 58— 69 Mega Ball 2
With no winner on July 4, the Mega Millions jackpot now rolls over to $25 million which will be the top prize offered for Tuesday’s drawing. The single-payment cash value of the jackpot is estimated at $14 million.
