What time do i need to buy mega millions by

Mega Millions is a multi-state game. The minimum Jackpot is $20 million.  Jackpot increases for each game will be determined based on sales in the current environment.

CLICK HERE for the Official Mega Millions website. 

With a little, or a lot, of luck, someone will be crowned the big winner of the Mega Millions lottery and the $1 billion jackpot. As the drawing nears, it's natural for people to rush to buy tickets, but there is a cutoff time for people taking their shot at becoming wealthy beyond their imagination.

In many states, eligible tickets are sold until 15 minutes before the drawing takes place. The drawing for Mega Millions will occur at 11 p.m. EDT on Friday, so, if you live in an eligible state on the East Coast, you have to purchase your ticket by 10:45 p.m EDT. If you're in Central Time Zone, that means 9:45 p.m. CDT. The West Coast should have their tickets in hand by 7:45 p.m PDT.

However, there are exceptions to this time limit, so it's best to check the rules in your own state. For example, in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, the cutoff is 9:50 p.m. EDT on the day of the drawing.

After a series of drawings during which no one hit big, the Mega Millions reached a whopping $1 billion with a cash option of $565 million on Friday. The massive prize is the second-largest pot of cash in United States lottery history.

What time do i need to buy mega millions by

A woman purchases Mega Millions tickets in Washington, D.C., on Friday, as the jackpot nears $1 billion. The last chance to purchase tickets in most states is 15 minutes before the drawing. JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

To take a shot at winning the life-changing prize money, a person over the age of 18 needs to purchase a ticket for two dollars with the option to guess the Megaplier for an extra dollar. Tickets are sold at a variety of establishments, including convenience stores, gas stations and newspaper stands.

There are two ways a person can select their numbers, either by choosing specific numbers or through random selection. If there is a set of lucky numbers the person wants to play, they select five different numbers ranging from one to 70 and one number ranging from one to 25. If the person wants to leave it up to the computer to decide their fate, they can select the Easy Pick/Quick Pick option and have numbers generated for them.

There are nine ways a person can win the Mega Million lottery, ranging from the top prize down to the cost of their ticket:

  • 5 numbers + gold Mega Ball match = Jackpot
  • 5 numbers + no gold Mega Ball match = $1,000,000
  • 4 numbers + gold Mega Ball match = $10,000
  • 4 numbers + no gold Mega Ball match = $500
  • 3 numbers + gold Mega Ball match = $200
  • 3 numbers + no gold Mega Ball match = $10
  • 2 numbers + gold ball match = $10
  • 1 number + gold ball match = $4
  • 0 numbers + gold ball match = $2

Winners have two choices for claiming their prize, either in an immediate payment followed by 29 subsequent payments, or in one lump sum of cash.

While not as high as the Mega Millions prize, also on the line this weekend is the $470 million prize attached to the Power Ball. The drawing for the Power Ball will take place on Saturday evening.

KSNF/KODE — Purchasing a $2 dollar Mega Millions lottery ticket could change your life in a billion different ways; that is, if you win the current jackpot.

The jackpot currently stands at $1,000,500,000 (that’s one billion, five hundred thousand dollars).

If luck is on your side, all that cash, minus taxes, could be yours if you happen to pick all six winning numbers, which just happens to be (approximately) a one-in-three-hundred-million chance (1-in-300,000,000).

Mega Millions tickets can be purchased in 45 states, including Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

| Here Are Some of the Craziest Things Past Jackpot Winners Bought >

You can purchase a Mega Millions ticket until the cut-off time of 8:59 p.m. central, on the night of the drawing (7/29).

The drawing for the billion dollar jackpot takes place Friday, July 29th, 2022 at 10:00 p.m. CDT (11:00 p.m. EDT).

Tickets for Friday's Mega Millions drawing are available until 10:45 p.m. Friday for the 11 p.m. drawing.

The most recent Mega Millions numbers from Tuesday’s winning numbers were 07-29-60-63-66, with a Mega Ball of 15. The jackpot will be nation’s fourth-largest lottery prize.

The last Mega Millions winner was April 15, when a ticket in Tennessee won $20 million.

The biggest Mega Millions jackpot this year was $426 million, won Jan. 28 in California, followed by $128 million in New York March 8 and $110 million in Minnesota April 12.

What time do i need to buy mega millions by

The Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $530 million for the drawing on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. No one has won the Mega Millions since April 15, when a ticket in Tennessee won $20 million. If someone were to win the current jackpot at $530 million, it would be among the top 10 largest Mega Millions jackpots ever, according to the lottery

When are Mega Millions drawings? 

Mega Millions drawings are Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.

How to play Mega Millions

Tickets to Mega Millions cost $2 per play. Adding the Megaplier is an extra

There are nine total ways to win a prize, from the jackpot to $2.

Pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25.

Choose Easy Pick or Quick Pick to have the terminal randomly pick numbers for you. You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in the drawing.

What's the Megaplier?

Most states offer the Megaplier feature, which increases non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four and five times.

It costs an additional $1 per play. Before each regular Mega Millions drawing, the Megaplier is drawn. From a pool of 15 balls, five are marked with "2X," three with "4X" and one with "5X."

Where to buy Mega Millions tickets

You can play Mega Millions in 47 localities: 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To find locations, search the Mega Millions website.

In Kentucky, residents can also purchase tickets online at www.KYLottery.com.

In Ohio, residents can use Lottery Card available in Kroger, Buehler’s Fresh Foods and Giant Eagle stores. It allows Ohio consumers to enter draw games on their phones and get notified and paid electronically if they win. You can also buy tickets online at www.OhioLottery.com.

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What time do i need to buy mega millions by

Rickey Patel, owner of Woodlawn Market located in Jackson Township, expects thousands of patrons for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing.

What was the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever?

In 2018, one winning ticket in South Carolina sold for a $1.537 billion grand prize, which was the world's largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.

In January 2021, a winning ticket sold in Michigan for $1.05 billion.

What happens if I win Mega Millions?

Mega Millions offers two options.

You can take annuity, in which you're paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% bigger than the previous.

There's also the cash option, a one-time, lump-sum payment equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The last time to buy tickets for Friday, July 29 Mega Millions

What is the latest time to buy Mega Millions?

So, tickets can be bought until 10:45 pm.

What time does mega close in California?

Draw Games.

What time do they stop selling lottery tickets in Georgia?

Each play is $2. Drawings occur thrice a week, and the jackpot grows until the jackpot is won! Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 pm. We stop selling Powerball tickets at 10 pm on draw nights, so make sure to get your tickets early.

What is the cut off time for Mega Millions in Florida?

Drawings are held Tuesday and Friday nights at 11:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Tickets may be purchased until 10:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the night of the drawing. Tickets purchased after that time will be for the next drawing.