If you bought a ticket for the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot and were hoping for an early Christmas Eve gift, you might have felt let down when you found out that no one won.
However, the prize has now increased and is estimated to be $1.15 billion, making it the fifth-largest jackpot in the game's history, according to Mega Millions. If someone wins tomorrow's grand prize, it will be the largest jackpot ever won in the month of December.
“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,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium in an online statement.
No ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve – the white balls 11, 14, 38, 45 and 46, plus the gold Mega Ball 3. But the prize for tomorrow’s drawing will grow even more, and if someone wins it, it would turn out to be a heck of a way to end 2024.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays – whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or any other way people choose to celebrate the season – than by helping fulfill the dreams that come with a prize like this and prizes that will be won at all levels of the game,” Johnston said.
Some online casinos and sportsbooks (like DraftKings) allow you to purchase lottery tickets through their apps. This makes it even easier for you to get into the game.
Mega Millions Jackpots Rarely Won in 2024
With only two more drawings left this year, Mega Millions is set to end a second year in a row with an unusual jackpot pattern.
Before a win in Texas on September 10, a player in Illinois won a $552 million jackpot on June 4, marking the largest prize ever awarded to an online player. Earlier, on March 26, a player in New Jersey won a $1.128 billion prize.
In 2024, players have won the jackpot only three times so far, which is the fewest in any single year since 2002 when the game started. In contrast, last year saw 10 jackpots won, the most in a single year since the game changed its matrix in 2013.
On top of that, Mega Millions is the only lottery game to produce seven jackpots exceeding $1 billion.
Top 10 Mega Millions Jackpots in History
Speaking of the largest jackpots in Mega Millions history, Friday’s prize has already staked its claim among the all-time biggest. It’s already closing in on the record $1.6 billion jackpot won in Florida last year.
The ten largest Mega Millions jackpots ever won, according to the lottery, include:
- $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023: Won in Florida
- $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018: Won in South Carolina
- $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023: Won in Maine
- $1.337 billion: July 29, 2022: Won in Illinois
- Current jackpot – $1.15 billion
- $1.1 billion, March 23, 2024: Won in New Jersey
- $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021: Won in Michigan
- Current jackpot – $970 Million
- $800 million, Sept. 10, 2024: Won in Texas
- $656 million, March 30, 2012: Three winners in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
The overall odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
Mega Millions Jackpot Payment Options
If you win a Mega Millions jackpot, you get to decide how you want to receive your prize: in cash or through yearly payments. The rules for claiming your prize can differ depending on where you bought your ticket, so check with your local Mega Millions lottery office for specific details.
Now, let’s dream a little. Say you win a $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot and choose the annuity option, you'll get an initial payment right away, followed by 29 annual payments. Each year, your payment will increase by 5% to help you keep up with rising prices.
To break it down, the first payment would be about $15 million. By the final year, your payment would grow to approximately $62 million. These increasing payments help ensure that your lifestyle and purchasing power remain stable over time.
If you choose the cash option, you receive a one-time payment equal to the cash value of the jackpot prize pool.
How Much Would the Lump Sum Pay?
For the current jackpot, the lump sum cash option payment sits at $516.1 million.
But matching all 5 white balls without the gold Mega Ball still pays. Getting 5 out of the 6 would score you $3 million (if you paid up for the Megaplier), or $1 million if you didn’t get the Megaplier.
Most states offer a Megaplier feature to increase non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times; it costs an additional $1 per play.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Good luck! But remember, always play responsibly.
