The perfect gift for Christmas may not be under the tree this season, as one lucky person could win nearly $1 billion in the Mega Millions lottery.
The jackpot is estimated at $944 million for the next drawing on Christmas Eve.
The prize increased after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Friday night – the white balls 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67, plus the gold Mega Ball 19.
If won at this level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
In the December 20 drawing, there were a total of 2,068,988 winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels. Five tickets matched the five white balls for the game’s $1 million second-tier prize. Two were sold in Indiana, with one each in Arkansas, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
During this run, there have been 56 winners of $1 million or more, won in 24 different states: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Mega Millions tickets and information
- Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has produced six jackpots greater than $1 billion.
- 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.
- The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24; the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
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Crystal Graham
