(LOOTPRESS) – The holiday season just got even more exciting for lottery enthusiasts, as the Mega Millions® jackpot has surged to an estimated $1.15 billion ($516.1 million cash).
With no ticket matching all six numbers in the Christmas Eve drawing, this massive prize now ranks as the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
The next drawing is scheduled for Friday, December 27.
The numbers drawn on December 24 were 11, 14, 38, 45, and 46, with a gold Mega Ball of 3.
“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.
“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.”
In the Christmas Eve drawing alone, there were 4,292,338 winning tickets across non-jackpot prize tiers.
Four tickets matched the five white balls, earning second-tier prizes. These tickets were sold in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming.
Additionally, 106 tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball, securing the third-tier prize. Of these, 13 included the Megaplier, increasing their winnings to $30,000 each, while the other 93 tickets won $10,000 each.
The jackpot has been climbing since it was last won on September 10 in Texas, with a prize of $810 million.
Over the course of 30 drawings, more than 25.7 million tickets have won prizes across various tiers. These include 60 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, claimed in 25 different states across the country.
