TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Friday the 13th may be known for bad luck, but this Friday could be very lucky for someone when the Mega Millions numbers are drawn.
As of this report, the Mega Millions jackpot stands at $1.35 billion, the second largest in Mega Millions history.
The largest prize in the lottery’s history was $1.537 billion, won on Oct. 23, 2018, in South Carolina.
With Friday the 13th’s reputation as the day for bad luck, you might think the number of Mega Millions jackpot winners would be close to zero, but in actuality, several people have drawn the winning ticket on that date.
And apparently Michigan has a bit more luck than most, with four of the six Friday the 13th winners coming from there.
According to Mega Millions, the full list in order of date goes:
- June 13, 2008 – $57 million (Fred Topous of Kent City, Mich.)
- March 13, 2009 – $26 million (Isabel Zelaya of Suffolk County, N.Y.)
- May 13, 2011 – $27 million (Kendall Warren of Kalamazoo, Mich)
- June 13, 2014 – $66 million (Kelsey Zachow of Port Huron, Mich.)
- November 13, 2015 – $202 million (The Lucky Duck Passive Trust of Columbus, Ohio)
- October 13, 2017 – $42 million (2 winners who split the prize)
- $21 million (Kevin and Stephanie Blake of Waterford, Mich.)
- $21 million (Eddy and Alejandro Trinidad of Providence, R.I.)
If someone wins the jackpot Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, it will be the largest prize ever won on Friday the 13th.
Your chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are roughly 1 in 302.6 million, or slightly worse than winning the Powerball jackpot.
The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET Friday. Mega Millions is played in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Tickets are $2 and there are a total of nine ways to win a prize.
