On only three previous occasions has the Mega Millions jackpot gone beyond $700 million, and all three times those rolls continued on past $1 billion. One was in January just two years ago, when the jackpot was eventually won in Michigan at $1.05 billion on January 22, 2021. Will history repeat itself with another billion-dollar January win?
The game’s first billion-dollar jackpot came on October 23, 2018, when a South Carolina winner took home a $1.537 billion prize. That remains the record Mega Millions jackpot, although a third billion-dollar run came close last summer when an Illinois ticket won $1.337 billion on July 29. Find a complete list of jackpot winners here.