Mega Millions nears $500M mark. See March 3 winning numbers, next drawing
See which states are the luckiest in the lottery
USA TODAY’s Fernando Cervantes shares which states have claimed the most Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots wins.
- The winning numbers for the March 3 drawing were 7, 21, 53, 54, 62, with a MegaBall of 16.
- The jackpot for the next drawing on March 6 has grown to an estimated $496 million.
The Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow as the March 3 drawing goes unclaimed.
The March 3 drawing had a jackpot of $438 million and a cash option of $221.8 million. The last jackpot was won on December 2 when a single winner from New Jersey won a $90 million jackpot.
While the race for the grand prize with Mega Millions continues, the Powerball jackpot has reset once again after a lucky winner in Arkansas took home the grand prize of $251 million on Monday.
Here are the winning numbers for Tuesday night’s drawing.
What were the winning Mega Millions numbers for 3/3/2026?
The winning numbers for the March 3 drawing are 7, 21, 53, 54, 62, with the MegaBall being 16.
When is the next Mega Millions drawing?
The next Mega Millions drawing is Friday, March 6, at 11 p.m. ET/10 CT. Mega Millions has two drawings each week on Tuesday and Friday.
How much is the Mega Millions jackpot now?
The jackpot ahead of the March 6 drawing has reached an estimated $496 million, with a lump-sum payment of $232.6 million, according to megamillions.com.
What are the odds of winning a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot?
The chances of winning big are pretty slim.
The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot — no matter the size — are around 1 in 292.2 million.
How often does the lottery hit $1 billion or more?
Having Powerball or Mega Millions hit the $1 billion mark is no longer as uncommon as it once was.
In the last five years, there have been eight jackpots between Mega Millions and Powerball that have gone over the $1 billion mark. And three of those happened in 2023, and two occurred in 2024.
The highest lottery jackpot was won in November 2022, amounting to $2.04 billion. It was the second jackpot over $1 billion that year. Before that, the only other times a jackpot hit over a billion were in 2021, 2018 and 2016.
Top 10 highest Mega Millions jackpots
The latest jackpot has not broken into the ten highest ever jackpots in the history of Mega Millions, but in a few weeks, it could become the tenth-highest in game history.
- $1.602 billion — Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
- $1.537 billion — Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
- $1.35 billion — Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
- $1.337 billion — July 29, 2022; Illinois
- $1.269 billion — Dec. 27, 2024; California
- $1.128 billion — March 26, 2024; New Jersey
- $1.05 billion — Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan
- $983 million — Nov. 14, 2025; Georgia
- $810 million — Sept. 10, 2024; Texas
- $656 million — March 30, 2012; Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
Top 10 U.S. lottery drawing Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot results
Here are the nation’s all-time top 10 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, according to powerball.com:
- $2.04 billion, Powerball — Nov. 7, 2022; California
- $1.765 billion, Powerball — Oct. 11, 2023; California
- $1.602 billion, Mega Millions — Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
- $1.817 billion, Powerball — Dec. 24, 2025; Arkansas
- $1.586 billion, Powerball — Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida, Tennessee
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions — Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions — Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions — July 29, 2022; Illinois
- $1.326 billion, Powerball — April 6, 2024; Oregon
- $1.3 billion (est.), Powerball — Sept. 3, 2025
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.
This content is sourced from www.tennessean.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
