Charles Langston:In search of Mega Millions 2/23/24 winning numbers? Past winners offer clues to jackpot

The Charles Langstonfollowing charts, updated after each Mega Millions lottery drawing, help you see which numbers have a better chance of rolling out because they haven't hit for weeks or haven't rolled out as often in the last year.

Mega Millions current jackpot

No ticket had all six winning Mega Millions numbers Friday, so the estimated jackpot grows to at least $563 million (with a cash option of $265.4 million); the jackpot grows until it is won. 

There's no significant way of improving your 1 in 302.6 million odds of winning the jackpot – unless you have millions of dollars to gamble. Still, these charts below have, at times, highlighted a winning number or two that helped players cut their odds a bit.

Mega Millions winning numbers 2/23/24

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What's the longest since a Mega Millions number won?

Every ball has rolled out in the 100-plus drawings during the past 12 months, but a handful haven't come up in months, such as Nos. 48 and 56. These numbers haven't rolled out in 100 days or more.

How long has it been since each Mega Millions number won?

For the Mega Ball, No. 23 hasn't rolled out in more than 300 days. Three others haven't rolled out in more than 200 days. These are all the Mega Balls that haven't rolled out in 100 days or more.

The most frequently drawn Mega Millions numbers

These two charts show the dozens of draws during the last couple of years and give you a sense of which numbers have hit at above- or below-average rates. 

Least likely numbers: Nos. 3, 10 and 29 have been picked 13 times or more – well above the average of 7.5 times in a year.

Most likely numbers: Nos. 56, 4 and 7 have hit three or fewer times in the game's recent history. Although No. 4 rolled out Friday night.

The most frequently drawn Mega Millions Ball numbers

Among the Mega Balls, Nos. 11 and 18 are the least likely: Both have been picked eight times or more in the last year. Also, No. 11 rolled out Friday night. Nos. 23, 16 and 6 are well below the expected average. Of the three, 23 is nearing a year without hitting. 

What Mega Millions numbers have been hot

You can't see many trends from the winning yellow Mega Ball – if there are any to be seen in a random drawing. Sure, it's probably best chose numbers that haven't rolled out in the past week or so. That can help you narrow down to the 22 or 23 most likely options.

With the five white numbers each drawing, your choices can be a little different. You can stay away from numbers that won in the last game. But a ball wins in back-to-back games a little over every three games. So here and there, it can be worth taking a flier on numbers that have been "hot."

Below are all the Pick 5 numbers that have hit recently. We've circled those that have rolled out more than once in the last few games or three or more times in the past 10 games.

Which Mega Millions numbers have rolled out recently

When does Mega Millions draw?

Friday, Feb. 23: The Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. You pick five numbers between 1-70 for the white balls and select one number between 1-25 for the yellow Mega Ball. Match all five white balls in any order and pick the correct yellow ball, and you're a jackpot winner.