Mega Millions jackpot climbs to estimated $1.15 billion after no winning tickets sold for $1 billion Christmas Eve jackpot
The Grinch had his way as no tickets sold for the $1 billion Mega Millions Christmas Eve jackpot matched the six balls needed to win: 11, 14, 38, 45, 46, and a Mega Ball of 3.
The next estimated grand prize is a gargantuan $1.15 billion, with a cash option of $516.1 million, lottery officials said. It would be the fifth biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever if someone wins. (All the totals are before taxes are taken out.) The next drawing will be Friday night.
The prize for Tuesday night's drawing grew from an estimated $970 million on Monday to $1 billion, or $448.8 million for the cash option, as more and more tickets were sold during the day and on Christmas Eve.
The $1 billion jackpot would have been the seventh largest Mega Millions prize ever won. A player in Florida got the biggest, $1.602 billion, in an Aug. 8 drawing.
Two winning Powerball jackpots top them all: an estimated $2.04 billion in California in November 2022 and $1.765 billion, also in California, in October 2023.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10. No ticket matched all six numbers during the previous drawing on Friday night, with white balls 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67, plus the gold Mega Ball 19.
If someone had won Tuesday night, it would have been just the second Mega Millions jackpot won on Christmas Eve. Someone won a $68 million jackpot in New York on Christmas Eve in 2002, but that prize went unclaimed.
Thirteen Mega Millions jackpots have been won in December since the game began in 2002.
Only three Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year — the fewest in any year since the game started. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
Winners have two choices: a 30-year annuity that pays the full jackpot amount or a one-time cash lump sum, which is much smaller. But many winners opt for it to get the money upfront.
Mega Millions tickets are available in 45 states along with Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 per play. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. EST on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Watch out for lottery scams
People planning to play the lottery should watch out for lottery scams. According to the Federal Trade Commission, lottery scams usually involve getting a call, email or letter saying you won a sweepstakes, lottery or prize. Some scams may ask people to pay money to access their winnings.
Mega Millions says that no representative of the lottery would ever call, text or e-mail anyone about winning a prize. The game also notes that big jackpots draw attention from would-be scammers.
"While people need to be vigilant at all times, this is especially true during periods of larger jackpots," according to the lottery's website.
Changes coming to Mega Millions
Mega Millions tickets are set to get more expensive next year. It will cost $5 per play starting in April, more than double the current $2.
The ticket price change will lead to bigger jackpots and better odds of winning, according to Mega Millions. The change in April will mark the second price increase since Mega Millions was launched.
"We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing," Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said when the news was announced. "We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb, plus this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes everywhere Mega Millions is played."
Correction: This story has been updated to note that Mega Millions began in 2002, not 2022.