Here are the winning numbers for Tuesday’s $625 million Mega Millions lottery drawing

It appears no one won Tuesday’s multistate lottery drawing, so players could have more than 750 million reasons to smile Friday if they’re lucky enough to match six numbers.

The winning Mega Millions numbers for Jan. 12 are 12, 14, 26, 28 and 33, and the Mega number is 9. The $625 jackpot — which would have been the fourth-largest in the game’s history — was worth an estimated $625 million, Mega Millions officials in Atlanta said during the drawing just after 8 p.m. Pacific.

Since no tickets matched these numbers, Friday’s jackpot is now estimated at $750 million, which would be the second-largest prize in the game’s history, trailing only a $1.54 billion prize claimed in October 2018 by one lucky winner in South Carolina.

Friday’s jackpot has an estimated cash value of $550.6 million, according to lottery officials. The lucky winner will still have to pay federal taxes, although California is one of only 10 states to exempt state income tax on lottery winnings.

With $550.6 million, sans taxes, you could buy this 21-bedroom, 42-bathroom home in Los Angeles’ Bel Air neighborhood — and still have plenty of pocket money to spare.

According an analysis of Census Bureau data by lendedu.com, Americans spent more than $72 billion on lottery tickets in 2016, while the average American spends about $220 on lottery tickets every year.

If you win less than $600, you can take your ticket to a retailer in exchange for cash, according to the California Lottery. If you win more than $600, download a claim form and deliver it to any lottery district office or mail it to 730 N. 10th St., Sacramento, CA 95811.

Mega Millions tickets are $2 each. To play, you must select five numbers between 1 and 70, and a “Mega” number between 1 and 26. Players have a 1 in 24 chance of winning any given drawing, though you’ll have a 1 in 302.6 million shot at winning the jackpot. Tickets for this game are sold in 45 states across the country, plus Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.

If you didn’t win anything in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, you can soon have another shot at riches. Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $550 million.

This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Here are the winning numbers for Tuesday’s $625 million Mega Millions lottery drawing."