With no Mega Millions winner, jackpot increases to an estimated $508 million

No one purchased a jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket for Tuesday night's drawing, worth an estimated $454 million, and because no one won, the jackpot for Friday night's drawing is expected to reach an estimated $508 million, a Virginia Lottery spokesman told The Associated Press. Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball are 1 in 259 million. This is the 34th time the jackpot has rolled over without a winner, with the previous record being 22. "It takes much bigger jackpots to get players excited," Paula Otto, lead director for Mega Millions, said. "It looks like the tipping point might be right about now." The highest lottery jackpot ever drawn in the United States was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot, won by players in three states in January.

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