Tonight’s $321 Million Mega Millions Drawing: What to Know Before 11 PM ET
The Mega Millions jackpot keeps climbing. An estimated $321 million is on the line in tonight’s drawing — Friday, October 2, 2026 — held at 11:00 PM ET, with a cash option of $131.1 million for any player who matches all six numbers.
If you’re thinking of getting in on this one, here’s everything you need to know before the balls start rolling.
How the jackpot got this big
Nobody matched all six numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing, so the jackpot rolled over again. The winning numbers on September 29 were 10, 15, 16, 27, 64, with the Mega Ball 23 — and while hundreds of thousands of tickets won smaller prizes, no one took home the top prize.
The rollover streak has now been running for over two months. The last Mega Millions jackpot winner was a ticket that claimed an estimated $800 million on July 28, 2026. Since then, the jackpot has reset and climbed steadily through every draw without a grand-prize winner — which is exactly how we end up staring at a $321 million prize on a Friday night in October.
How to play tonight’s Mega Millions drawing
Mega Millions tickets cost $5 per play, and the multiplier is now built into the game. Here’s how a ticket works:
- Pick five white-ball numbers from 1 to 70
- Pick one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25
- Prefer to let fate decide? Ask for a Quick Pick and the computer chooses your numbers
There are nine ways to win in total, with prizes ranging from $10 for matching just the Mega Ball up to the full jackpot. Drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 PM ET, and tickets are sold in 45 states plus Washington, DC, and the Virgin Islands. You don’t have to be a US citizen or resident to play — but you do have to buy your ticket from a licensed retailer in a participating jurisdiction.
What are your odds?
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 290.5 million. That’s longer odds than Powerball’s 1 in 292.2 million, though both games pay out life-changing sums at this level.
Every number combination has exactly the same chance in every draw, no matter which numbers won last time. Popular “lucky” numbers don’t hit any more often than the rest — so don’t let anyone sell you a “system” that’s guaranteed to win.
When do you need to buy your ticket?
Sales cut-off times vary by state and lottery jurisdiction, but they’re generally one to two hours before the 11 PM ET drawing. Some states let you buy tickets online through their official lottery websites, including Kentucky, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.
If you miss tonight’s cut-off, don’t worry — the next drawing is Tuesday night, and the jackpot will roll over even higher if nobody wins tonight.
What to do if you win
First: sign the back of your ticket and keep it somewhere safe. A signed ticket is your proof of ownership, and lottery officials won’t pay out to someone holding an unsigned ticket they can’t verify.
Second: don’t rush to claim. Talk to a qualified attorney and a financial adviser before you go public. Winners face real decisions — the biggest being whether to take the annuity (paid out over 30 years) or the lump-sum cash option. Each choice has different tax consequences, and what works for one winner might not work for another.
Want to see the difference for yourself? Try our free lottery tax calculator and annuity vs. lump-sum calculator to compare what a jackpot like tonight’s would actually be worth in your pocket after federal taxes.
How to check tonight’s results
We’ll have tonight’s winning numbers posted on our Mega Millions results page shortly after the drawing. You can also run your ticket through our free lottery ticket checker to see instantly whether you’ve won a prize.
Good luck tonight — and remember to play responsibly. Lotteries are entertainment, so set a budget, stick to it, and never spend money you can’t afford to lose. You must be 18 or older (21 in some jurisdictions) to play.
