Hold on to those lottery tickets.
The Mega Millions jackpot surpassed $1 billion after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in gaming history.
“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would be if you ended up with a ticket worth $1.15 billion,” Joshua Johnston , lead director of Mega Millions. » declared the Consortium in a press release published on Wednesday.
Some lucky players won prizes in Tuesday’s draw. According to lottery officials, tickets in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming matched five numbers to win $1 million each.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials.
Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions tickets cost $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remain in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings take place at 10 p.m. CT on Tuesdays and Fridays.
This means the next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Friday, December 27 at 10 p.m. CT.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays – whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice or any other way people choose to celebrate the season – than by helping make dreams come true that come with a price like this. and prizes that will be won at all levels of the game,” Johnston said.
