Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $482 Million for an Election Day Drawing on Tuesday Night
Powerball gets Monday; Mega Millions gets Election Day. No ticket matched Friday's numbers - 5, 10, 38, 49, 68 and Mega Ball 17 - so Tuesday's drawing at 10 p.m. Houston time carries an estimated $482 million, with a $203.6 million cash option, on the night Texas counts its votes.
HOUSTON - The week's second lottery headline lands on Election Day. Mega Millions rolls to an estimated $482 million for its Tuesday, Nov. 3 drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers on Friday, USA TODAY reported - a $203.6 million cash option, drawn at 11 p.m. Eastern, 10 p.m. in Houston, as the midterm results come in.
Friday's winning numbers were 5, 10, 38, 49 and 68, with a Mega Ball of 17, in a drawing advertised at $463 million. The jackpot has been building since July 28, when a ticket sold in Florida claimed an $800 million prize - the game's third jackpot of 2026. A Mega Millions ticket costs $5, and the odds of matching all five white balls and the Mega Ball are 1 in 290,472,336.
For Texas players the two games now bracket the election. Powerball's $793 million drawing is tonight at 9:59 p.m. Houston time, and Mega Millions follows roughly 24 hours later - about $1.28 billion of advertised jackpot across the two nights, before a single vote is counted in the second one.
Mega Millions draws every Tuesday and Friday. If no ticket hits on Election Day, the jackpot rolls to Friday, Nov. 6 - and Texas players holding Friday tickets should check them against the numbers above before Tuesday's sales close.
