Mega Millions lottery jackpot rises to $541M after no more big winners

Lottery players may dream of a big Christmas present, too Mega Millions jackpot rising to about $541 million for Tuesday night’s drawing.

The jackpot for December 3 was hit after no lottery players across the country matched all six winning numbers in Friday night’s draw.

The winning numbers on Friday were: 3, 29, 34, 37 and 38with the Mega Orb off 17. Megaplier was 2x.

One lucky winner bought a ticket worth $1 million because it matched all five numbers in the main draw, but not the Mega number. The ticket was sold in Oregon, according to the official Mega Millions website.

The jackpot for Tuesday night will be very close to making the top 10 for the biggest prizes in Mega Millions history. The 10th largest prize was $552 million, with a winning ticket sold in Illinois on June 4.

The Mega Millions lottery was launched in September 1996 under another name, the Big Game. The name was changed to Mega Millions in May 2002 after more states joined the lottery.

Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday in New Jersey and 44 other states along with Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.

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Len Melisurgo can be reached at [email protected] or at X at @LensReality.