COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- In what seems more like "Goundhog Day" than "It's A Wonderful LIfe," the holiday season Mega Millions jackpot continues to climb after no winning tickets were played Tuesday.
Friday's drawing, the 29th since the jackpot was last won, could be worth an estimated $825 million, or a one-time cash payment of $382.2 million.
Friday's winning numbers are 02, 20, 51, 56, and 67; the Mega Ball is 19 and the Megaplier is 2X.
To win the jackpot, players must match the five winning white balls and the Mega Ball.
The Mega Millions jackpot was last won on Sept. 10 for $810 million. Since then, more than 19.4 million winning tickets worth at least $2 have been sold; this includes 51 worth $1 million or more, according to the lottery; at least one of those winners is from Ohio. In Tuesday's drawing, five $1 million tickets were sold, with one matching the 4X Megaplier, making it worth $4 million. All told, the lottery said 1,602,721 winning tickets were played in Tuesday's drawing.
Jackpots were won 13 times in the month of December since the game began in 2002 -- 10 won before Christmas day, three won after, but none on the holiday itself, the lottery said. So far in 2024, the jackpot has only been won three times, the fewest of any year since the game began.
The odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24; the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
Winning numbers are drawn at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tickets are $2 with an optional $1 to add the Megaplier.
The top ten jackpots in Mega Millions history are:
| Amount | Date |
| $1.602 billion | 8/8/2023 |
| $1.537 billion | 10/23/2018 |
| $1.348 billion | 1/13/2023 |
| $1.337 billion | 7/29/2022 |
| $1.128 billion | 3/26/2024 |
| $1.050 billion | 1/22/2021 |
| $825 million (estimated) | 12/20/2024 |
| $810 million | 9/10/2024 |
| $656 million | 3/30/2012 |
| $648 million | 12/17/2013 |
