The Mega Millions jackpot surpassed $1 billion on Christmas Day following a Christmas Eve drawing with no big winner.
Should one person correctly guesses the right numbers on all five white balls and the Mega Ball in Friday night’s drawing, they could win $1.15 billion as the pot continues to swell. That amounts to a $516.1 million lump-sum cash prize.
“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Mega Millions Consortium director Joshua Johnston said in a statement Wednesday.
Johnston added that a $1.15 billion windfall also makes for a happy Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.
Mega Millions hasn’t had a grand prize giveaway since Sept. 10 when a newly minted Texas multi-millionaire claimed an $810 million ticket. Only two more Mega Millions lotteries are scheduled before 2024 draws to an end.
Lottery officials said Tuesday’s 11:00 p.m. drawing produced nearly 4.3 million winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels. Contestants in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming correctly picked the white balls, but the gold one wrong. Those winners will get at least $1 million each.
The odds of winning $1.15 billion with a $2 ticket Friday are one in 302,575,350. That drawing happens in Atlanta at 11 p.m. If there’s no winner, the Mega Millions’ jackpot will continue to swell before six more balls are drawn Tuesday.
