DES MOINES, Iowa — One of the largest jackpots in U.S. lottery history climbed even higher Saturday after no ticket matched all six numbers to win the $425 million top Mega Millions prize.
With the Friday the 13th drawing failing to produce any winner lucky enough to claim the fifth-biggest jackpot ever, officials raised the amount to $550 million for the drawing Tuesday. That now ranks as the fourth-biggest.
Paula Otto, the Virginia Lottery’s executive director and Mega Millions’ lead director, told The Associated Press early Saturday that she expects the amount to rise even higher before the drawing.
“We’ve never had a jackpot at this level in December leading into the holidays,” Otto said. “If we keep rolling, we could well be at a billion dollars going into Christmas.”
The winning numbers Friday were: 19-24-26-27-70, Mega Ball: 12.
