9 Mega Millions players came so close Tuesday, but no winners means $750 million jackpot

The Mega Millions 01/12/21 jackpot was the fourth-largest in history, and nine people came so close to winning it. However, they only hit the first five numbers and missed the gold Mega Ball for the $625 million prize.

Now, the national jackpot has risen to $750 million—the second-largest jackpot in the game’s history. Here are the numbers from Tuesday night’s 01/12/21 drawing:

• First Five: 12-14-26-28-33
• Mega Ball: 09
• Megaplier: 2x

There were nine people who hit the first five numbers. Those tickets were sold in California, Florida (2), Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Washington. One of the Florida tickets purchased the Megaplier for an extra $1, which made their ticket worth $2 million instead of the $1 million default.

The Mega Millions jackpot for 01/15/21 is now estimated at $750 million, which is already the second-highest jackpot in the game’s history. The jackpot could increase before Friday’s drawing. Here are the top 10 Mega Millions jackpots to date:

Amount/Date/Winning Tickets

1. $1.537 billion 10/23/2018 1-SC
2. $750 million CURRENT JACKPOT
3. $656 million 3/30/2012 3-IL, 1-KS, 1-MD
4. $648 million 12/17/2013 2-CA, 1-GA
5. $543 million 7/24/2018 1-CA
6. $536 million 7/8/2016 1-IN
7. $533 million 3/30/2018 1-NJ
8. $522 million 6/07/2019 1-CA
9. $451 million 1/5/2018 1-FL
10. $414 million 3/18/2014 2-FL, 1-MD

There was a grand prize winner for $410 million on April 9, 2020, for a ticket that was sold in Arizona. That was the top prize in the 2020 calendar year.

This Friday’s jackpot is the highest grand prize since the game hit $1.5 billion during October of 2018.

The last grand prize jackpot winner was from a ticket sold in Wisconsin on 09/15/20 for a jackpot worth $119 million. It was only the fifth, and final, Mega Millions jackpot won in the 2020 calendar year.

Here are the five Mega Millions jackpots won in 2020:

$119 million — September 15 in Wisconsin
$22 million — July 31 in California
$124 million — July 24 in New Jersey
$410 million — June 9 in Arizona
$202 million — February 11 in New Jersey

Other winners—dating back to 2019—were a $372 million ticket sold in Ohio and a $227 million ticket that was sold on 09/24/19 in the city of Cedar Park, Texas—a suburb north of Austin.

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery every Tuesday and Friday night, and it is one of America’s two biggest lottery jackpot games. Mega Millions jackpots start at $20 million, and other prizes pay from $1 million to $2 million or more with a Megaplier. Tickets are $2 per line, and odds of winning with a $2 Mega Millions ticket are one in 303 million. For more information on Mega Millions, or to check your past numbers, visit its website.

Powerball is the other multi-state lottery, and it also starts at $20 million. Its drawings take place shortly after 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Here is the Powerball website for more information, or to check past winning numbers.