A historic streak of no jackpot winners has propelled the U.S. Mega Millions lottery to a near-billion-dollar prize, underscoring the minuscule odds facing hopeful players.
The jackpot now stands at an estimated $965 million after Tuesday’s draw failed to produce a grand prize winner.
This marks the 40th consecutive drawing without anyone matching all six numbers, setting a new record for the Mega Millions game.
Players will have their next chance to win the massive prize this Friday.
While the current $965 million is not yet among the top 10 largest lottery prizes in U.S. history, it would be the eighth largest Mega Millions prize awarded since the game began in 2002 if won.
Mega Millions has seen four jackpot winners this year, with the most recent one occurring on June 27.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are exceedingly slim, at approximately 1 in 290,472,336.
However, the odds of winning any prize in the game are significantly better, at 1 in 23.
Tickets are sold for $5 USD each in 45 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For context, the competing Powerball lottery awarded a colossal $1.8 billion prize last September, which was split between two winners in Missouri and Texas.