(NEXSTAR) – Christmas Day could become even more magical for someone, if they’re able to match all six winning numbers for a record-setting Mega Millions jackpot.
Without a winner in Friday’s drawing, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an estimated $944 million, with a cash option of roughly $429.4 million. Should there be a winner in the next drawing, slated for 10 p.m. Tuesday, it would mark only the second time a Mega Millions jackpot has been hit on Christmas Eve, game officials said.
It was December 2002 – Mega Millions’ first year – when a ticket in New York landed a $69 million prize. It later went unclaimed.
The current jackpot up for grabs, which has been brewing since a Texas ticket landed an $810 million jackpot in September, is the seventh-largest in game history.
The jackpot would need to grow by more than $136 million to become one of the largest across Mega Millions and Powerball. It currently ranks 12th overall, coming in behind the $1.05 billion prize won by a Michigan ticket in 2021.
Ready to try your luck? Your odds of winning any Mega Millions prize aren’t bad – 1 in 24 – but your odds at the grand prize are much slimmer – 1 in 302,575,350. (Game officials have said that expected changes next year will make your odds better – for a price.)
Your odds of winning remain the same everywhere in the country, but New York and California have sold the most Mega Millions jackpot-winning tickets at 42 and 36, respectively, based on game data. Twenty states have yet to sell one.
Tickets, sold in 45 states, cost $2, plus an additional $1 if you opt for the Megaplier (available in most participating jurisdictions). With or without a jackpot winner Tuesday, the next drawing will be held at 10 p.m. CT Friday.
