The temperatures may be falling, but the Mega Millions lottery continues to rise with an estimated jackpot of $825 million.
If won on Friday night, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
No ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night – the white balls 56, 66, 67, 68 and 69, plus the gold Mega Ball 18.
Thirteen Mega Millions jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002.
Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas.
There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years, drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
While the jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept.10, there have been almost 19.4 million winning tickets sold in the 28 drawings since then.
These include 51 prizes of $1 million or more won in 21 different jurisdictions from coast to coast: California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The Mega Millions jackpot has been won only three times this year, so far the fewest won in any single year since the game began.
Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Tickets are $2 each; in most jurisdictions, players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes.
Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold, where the money supports designated good causes and retailer commissions.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are one in 24; the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302,575,350.
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Crystal Graham
