The Mega Millions jackpot is equivalent to around £1.1bn
(Picture: AFP/Getty Images)A lottery prize in the US has rolled over to a staggering $1.35 billion after nobody has won the jackpot in three months.
The Mega Millions prize for this Friday - which equates to more than £1.1bn - is the second-highest the game has ever seen.
The only jackpot larger is an $1.53 billion payout won in South Carolina in 2018, Mega Millions said.
Meanwhile the largest jackpot ever seen in any US lottery game to date was a $2.04 billion Powerball, won by a single ticket holder in California in November.
Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said on Wednesday: “Now at $1.35 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is moving up and making history as the second-highest Mega Millions jackpot ever.”
The estimated $1.35 billion jackpot in the next drawing would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years.
Nearly all grand prize winners opt to instead take a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $707.9 million.
There have been 25 drawings that have taken place across three months, since a player last matched all six numbers and claimed the game’s jackpot.
Despite long odds of one in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as in Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands.
