What's New
The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion, and your odds of winning are 1 in 302 million, even if you got a ticket as a Christmas gift.
Why It Matters
No ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve, so the big prize is growing for the next drawing on December 27. If won on Friday, lottery officials expect that the winnings will be the fifth-largest jackpot in the game's history.
"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," Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a press release.
But there's a better chance of being struck by lightning or bitten by a shark than winning the next Mega Millions drawing. The odds of winning the jackpot, which at the time of publication reached $1.15 billion, are 1 in 302,575,350, according to the lottery's press release.
Buying additional lottery tickets does increase a person's odds of winning, but the increase may be small and not necessarily worth it. The odds for the lottery are the same game to game. Since each lottery is an independent event, the odds of winning are equal regardless of how often a person may play.
What To Know
Giving lottery tickets as a gift has become increasingly popular over the years. The tickets are often used as a stocking stuffer, and people are able to hedge their chances for a larger gift.
On December 24, the drawn numbers were 11, 14, 38, 45, 46 and Mega Ball 3. Mega Millions reported that there was a total of 4,292,338 winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels from Tuesday. Four of the tickets sold—in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming—matched the five white balls.
There have been 30 drawings since the last jackpot, which was won on September 10 and gave a Texas cardholder $810 million.
There are only two more drawings this year. The jackpot has been won only three times in 2024, marking the fewest wins in a single year since the game started in 2002. 2023 saw the most jackpot wins in a single year, 10, since a major matrix change in 2013.
Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions costs $2 per ticket. Half the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.
Drawings are held each Tuesday and Friday.
What People Are Saying
Johnston, of the Mega Millions Consortium, in a press release: "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."
Many people on social media are posting images and GIFs of clowns with the caption "me on my way to play the Mega Millions and try to win $1 billion."
What Happens Next
The next drawing will be held at 11 p.m. December 27 EST.
English (US) ·