Two Mega Millions players in California came close to winning a massive jackpot but fell short. The tickets, sold in Yucca Valley and Morgan Hill, matched all five numbers in Tuesday’s drawing but didn’t hit the Mega Ball. As a result, they each won $226,328 instead of the estimated $760 million.
The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 302,575,350. To put this into perspective, nearly 300 million people could win the jackpot before someone actually does. The jackpot for Friday’s drawing is expected to reach an estimated $825 million.
Despite missing out on the big payday, these players still helped raise funds for public education. Since California Lottery games began in 1985, the state has raised over $46 billion for public schools.
Source: https://ktla.com/news/california/2-californians-nearly-hit-760-million-mega-millions-jackpot