Mega Millions Jackpot Revised

With the excitement growing in anticipation of tonight's Mega Millions drawing, forecasters today revised the estimated jackpot upward to $315 million.

The adjusted jackpot shows how strong Mega Millions sales have been since the previous drawing did not produce a jackpot winner. That drawing did produce nearly 1.7 million winning tickets for prizes ranging from $2 to $250,000. Forecasters estimate the jackpot amount based on sales.

This jackpot has been growing since September 16, when Mega Millions had its most recent jackpot winner. The jackpot has now rolled 16 times without a winner. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 176 million.

Mega Millions holds the record for the largest jackpot in U.S. history. On May 9, 2000, the jackpot for the Big Game (the forerunner of Mega Millions) grew to $363 million.

Mega Millions is played in 12 states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, 10:00 PM Central Time and 8:00 PM Pacific Time.