The Mega Millions jackpot on Christmas Eve could be the ultimate gift for the fortunate winner who beats the odds of one in 302,575,350 by matching the five white balls and the gold Mega Ball on Tuesday night.
The Mega Millions jackpot has not been won since September 10, when a ticket purchased in Texas won an $810 million annuitized prize. In the following 29 draws, the jackpot has accumulated to an estimated $944 million, featuring a one-time cash choice of $429.4 million.
If the drawing on Tuesday night occurs at 11 p.m. If EST from the Mega Millions drawing studio at the Georgia Lottery headquarters in Atlanta reveals a winner, it would constitute the largest lottery payout ever recorded in December in US history. With a total of $944 million, the jackpot ranks as the seventh-largest payout in Mega Millions history.
Mega Millions occurs two times each week on Tuesdays and Fridays. On the previous Friday, the successful numbers were 2, 20, 51, 56, and 67, while the gold Mega Ball was 19.
In the drawing on December 20, over two million tickets won prizes at all non-jackpot prize tiers. Five tickets matched all five white balls for the game's second-highest prize of $1 million. None of those tickets chose the $1 Megaplier add-on that would have increased their winnings to $2 million after the Megaplier resulted in 2x.
An additional 48 tickets matched four of the five white balls along with the Mega Ball, earning the game’s third-highest payout of $10,000. Eleven of those tickets included the Megaplier to multiply their prize.
The majority of the winning tickets — over 1.36 million entries — matched the gold Mega Ball to reclaim their $2 investment. Approximately 265K utilized the Megaplier to achieve a $2 gain.
The way Mega Millions functions is about to be modified. In October, the Mega Millions Consortium verified rumors that the starting price will increase from $2 to $5 starting in April 2025.
The $5 ticket, on the other hand, includes the Megaplier automatically. This implies that “break-even” results will cease to exist, since a winning ticket next spring will consistently yield more money than the $5 wager placed.
The odds of winning the jackpot, which are about one in 302.5 million, will not alter, since the quantities of white and gold Mega Balls will stay constant. Mega Millions consists of 70 white balls and 25 Mega Balls.
Representatives from Powerball, the main competitor of Mega Millions, state that there are no intentions to raise ticket prices or modify the game. Powerball will take place on Monday evening, featuring a jackpot estimated at $103 million.
Powerball offers marginally improved jackpot odds compared to Mega Millions, standing at one in 292.2 million. As the Powerball jackpot tonight is under $150 million, the 10x Power Play multiplier will be active.
In March, a Mega Millions ticket purchased at a ShopRite grocery and liquor store in Neptune, NJ, claimed a 30-year annuitized jackpot valued at $1.128 billion. The New Jersey Lottery reports that the ticket for the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history remains unclaimed.
New Jersey's lottery regulations mandate that winning tickets must be claimed within 12 months of the drawing. The winner must come forward by March 26, 2025.
Editor's note: the winning ticket was claimed only hours after the publication of this article.
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