Mega Millions jackpot at $343M for winning numbers drawing tonight

CHICAGO --

The Mega Millions jackpot now stands at an estimated $343 million, with a cash option of $215 million, for Tuesday night's drawing.

No ticket won all six numbers in Friday night's drawing.

Friday night's Mega Millions numbers are:
4-10-18-28-62, Mega Ball: 7, Megaplier: 2

The next drawing is Tuesday night.

QUICK MEGA MILLIONS FACTS:
Current jackpot at $343 million; cash option of $215 million
Jackpots start at $40 million
Overall odds of winning the jackpot 1:305,575,350
Drawings are at 10 p.m. (CT) every Tuesday and Friday

Right now, both the Mega Millions and Powerball drawing have a combined jackpot of more than $780 million.

Wednesday's Powerball numbers were:

3 - 9 - 16 - 56 - 60 Powerball: 3 Powerplay: 3x

No winning tickets were sold for Saturday's Powerball drawing, which means the jackpot rolled to an estimated $440 million, with a cash option of just over $278 million.

QUICK POWERBALL FACTS
Current jackpot at $440 million; cash option of $278.3 million
Jackpots start at $40 million
Overall odds of winning the jackpot 1:292,201,338
Drawings are at 9:59 p.m. (CT) every Wednesday and Saturday

The record Mega Millions jackpot is $656 million - three tickets shared that jackpot on March 30, 2012. Just behind that is the $648 million jackpot split by two winners on December 17, 2013.

With slightly better odds than the Powerball game, it's rare that months pass without someone winning a Mega Millions jackpot.

There are several factors for the lack of a winner, including fewer players.

The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball in the Mega Millions game are one in 259 million. For Powerball, it's one in roughly 292 million. Revamps to the country's two big lottery games in recent years decreased the odds of picking all the numbers needed for the top prize, though officials point out it has increased the number of winners who score smaller prizes that range from $1 million to $5 million, depending on the game.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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