Mega Millions jackpot rises to estimated $1.15 billion after no winning tickets sold for $1 billion Christmas Eve jackpot

The Grinch had his way when no tickets were sold for the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Christmas Eve matched the six balls needed to win: 11, 14, 38, 45, 46 and a Mega Ball of 3.

The next estimated top prize is a whopping $1.15 billion, with a cash option of $516.1 million, lottery officials said. It would be the fifth largest Mega Millions jackpot ever if someone wins. (All totals are before tax.) Next drawing will be Friday night.

The prize for Tuesday night’s drawing grew from an estimated $970 million Monday to $1 billion, or $448.8 million for the cash option, as more and more tickets were sold throughout the day and Christmas Eve.

The $1 billion jackpot would have been the seventh largest Mega Millions pot of gold ever won. A player in Florida got largest, $1.602 billion in a drawing on August 8.

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 for $810 million in Texas on September 10th. No ticket matched all six numbers during the run previous drawing Friday nightwith white balls 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67, plus Mega Ball 19 in gold.

If someone had won Tuesday night, it would have been only the second Mega Millions jackpot won on Christmas Eve. Someone won a $68 million jackpot in New York on Christmas Eve 2002, but that prize went unclaimed.

Thirteen Mega Millions jackpots have been won in December since the game started in 2002.

Only three Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year – the fewest in any year since the game began. 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 cash lump sum that is much smaller. But many winners choose it to get the money up front.

Mega Millions tickets are available in 45 states along with Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 each. game. Drawings are carried out at 11pm EST on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Beware of lottery scams

People planning to play the lottery should be careful lottery scam. According to the Federal Trade Commission, lottery scams usually involve getting a call, email, or letter saying you’ve won a lottery, sweepstakes, or prize. Some scams may ask people to pay money to access their winnings.

Mega Millions says no representative of the lottery would ever call, text or email anyone about winning a prize. The game also notes that large jackpots attract the attention of potential fraudsters.

“While people have to be alert all the time, it is especially true during periods of larger jackpots,” according to the lottery’s website.

Changes coming to Mega Millions

Mega Millions tickets will be more expensive next year. It will cost $5 per games 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 launched.

“We’re creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and be excited to play,” said Joshua Johnston, head of the Mega Millions Consortium, when the news was announced. “We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, which means creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots increase, 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.