One lucky lottery player could witness a Mega Millions Christmas miracle.
With the next Mega Millions drawing taking place on Christmas Eve, the jackpot has reached $1 billion, according to lottery officials, with a cash value of $448.8 million.
It is the seventh-largest jackpot in gaming history, lottery officials said. If Tuesday’s game sees a winner, it will be the largest jackpot won in December, lottery officials added.
The next Mega Millions drawing will take place at 10 p.m. CT on December 24.
The billion-dollar jackpot comes after no winner matched all the numbers in Friday’s drawing to win the jackpot. But lottery players from Illinois and Indiana still walked away with big prizes in Friday’s game, each taking home $1 million.
Mega Millions tickets cost players $2, and prices are expected to increase in the new year. By adding the Megaplier option for an extra dollar per game, players can increase their non-jackpot winnings up to five times. » Lottery officials said. Drawings take place on Tuesdays and Fridays.
According to lottery officials, the largest Mega Millions jackpots won in the history of the game are:
- $1.602 billion: August 8, 2023, 1 winning ticket in Florida.
- $1.537 billion: October 23, 2018, 1 winning ticket in South Carolina.
- $1.348 billion: January 13, 2023, 1 winning ticket in Maine.
- $1.337 billion: July 29, 2022. 1 winning ticket in Illinois
- $1.128 billion: 03/26/2024, 1 winning ticket in New Jersey
- $1.050 billion: 01/22/2021, 1 winning ticket in Michigan
- $810 million: September 10, 2024, 1 winning ticket in Texas
- $656 million: March 30, 2012, 3 winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland
- $648 million: December 17, 2013, 2 winning tickets in California and Georgia
