Mega Millions jackpot climbs to record-breaking $1 billion, becomes game’s largest prize ever

The Mega Millions jackpot soared to a record-breaking $1 billion in the hours ahead of the prize drawing slated for Friday night.

The latest prize marks the biggest in Mega Millions history and the second-largest pot for any game won in the United States. It trails behind a Powerball jackpot of $1.58 billion, which was split three ways after the winning ticket was pulled in Florida back in January 2016.

No one has claimed the Mega Million prize since July — when a group of California office workers won a cool $543 million — and the pot has been growing ever since.

Previously, the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history stood at a whopping a $656 million, with a cash option of $474 million. Three winning tickets were pulled in March 2012, one each in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland.

Friday night’s grand prize, which has a cash option of about $548 million, joins five other top 10 drawings in the last three years. It’s part of growing trend of monstrous lottery prizes, in part prompted by lotto officials’ decision to lessen participants’ chances of taking home the jackpot. They believed bigger prizes would call more attention and ultimately result in more players shelling out the $2 required to purchase a ticket.

The prize drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga. at the WSB-TV studios. The six winning numbers will also be post online and to the Mega Millions app.