At $1.6 Billion, Mega Millions Jackpot Becomes Largest In Lottery History

A man in Torrance, Calif., buys a Mega Millions ticket hours before the drawing on Friday evening. No one won that drawing, and the jackpot went up to $1.6 billion.

Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

Anticipation is growing along with the zeros in the Mega Millions lottery winnings. The prize hit $1.6 billion after no one won the jackpot in a drawing on Friday night.

That’s the largest lottery jackpot in history, surpassing the $1.586 billion Powerball prize in January 2016.

Mega Millions lead director Gordon Medenica called it “uncharted territory.”