The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to a staggering $944 million prize for the next drawing on Christmas Eve on Tuesday, according to the lottery game.
Mega Millions has awarded six jackpots of over $1 billion, a feat unmatched by any other lottery game. These billion-dollar prizes have gone to players in six different states: South Carolina (2018), Michigan (2021), Illinois (2022), Maine (early 2023), Florida (August 2023) and New Jersey (March 2024).
Historically, December has seen 13 Mega Millions jackpots since the game's inception in 2002. Only one of those wins occurred on Christmas Eve -- back in 2002, when a $68 million ticket sold in New York went unclaimed, according to Mega Millions.
Unclaimed winnings in the multi-state lottery game don't go to waste; they are returned to participating states, which allocate the funds based on their respective lottery laws. These funds might be used for additional player prizes or for public beneficiaries like education and scholarships.
According to Mega Millions, the next drawing is on Tuesday, December 24, and the jackpot is currently estimated at $944 million or $429.4 million cash. If someone claims the prize at this level, it will mark the largest December jackpot ever and the seventh-largest in the history of Mega Millions.
The drawing comes after the jackpot rolled over again after no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday's drawing. The winning numbers were 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67 with a Mega Ball of 19.
The December 20 drawing saw more than 2 million winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels. Five tickets matched all five white balls, earning $1 million each. Two were sold in Indiana with the remaining three sold in Arkansas, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Another 48 tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball, earning $10,000 each. Eleven of these tickets included the Megaplier option, doubling their prize to $20,000.
The jackpot has been steadily climbing since its last win on September 10 in Texas, where a player claimed $810 million. Over 21.4 million winning tickets have been sold in the 29 drawings since then, including 56 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more across 24 states.
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 each and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For an extra $1, players can add the Megaplier option to increase non-jackpot prizes. Half of each ticket sale supports good causes in the state where it was sold.
The deadline for buying tickets for Mega Millions tickets varies by state. In some states, tickets are available up to 15 minutes before the drawing takes place, whereas the cut-time time in other states can be an hour or two before the drawing.
The Mega Millions' drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. While the odds of winning the jackpot are slim -- 1 in 302,575,350 -- the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.