Mega Millions jackpot nears $1 billion for Christmas Eve drawing

The seventh-largest Mega Millions jackpot in history is up for grabs in the next drawing. 

The jackpot stands at an estimated $944 million, including a $429.4 million cash option. If won at the current level, it would also be the largest prize ever won in December. 

The grand prize has been growing since it was last won in September in Texas for $810 million, lottery officials said. A $1.128 billion prize was won in New Jersey on March 26, 2024, but no one has yet to claim the jackpot. Lottery officials said that ticket will expire if not claimed by March 26, 2025, and "the unpaid prize will revert back to each participating Mega Millions jurisdiction."

Here’s what to know about the current Mega Millions:

Mega Millions jackpot lottery numbers

FILE - Lottery tickets for the Mega Millions jackpot which is at $1.58 billion are seen in a store on August 8, 2023 in New York. (Photo by Angela Weiss /AFP via Getty Images)

No ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Friday night. The white balls were 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67, plus the gold Mega Ball 19.

However, lottery officials said there were several other non-jackpot winners in the drawing.

Five tickets matched the five white balls for the game’s second-tier prize of $1 million, lottery officials said. Two were sold in Indiana, with one each in Arkansas, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Nationwide, 48 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize of $10,000 each. Eleven of those were actually worth $20,000 each because they also included the optional Megaplier.

There were 2,068,988 winning tickets at all prize levels in total, officials said. 

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When is the next Mega Millions drawing?

Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The next drawing is on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 - Christmas Eve.

Mega Millions jackpot lottery: How to play

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Tickets are currently $2 each, and in most areas, players can add the Megaplier for an additional $1 to multiply their non-jackpot prizes.  However, the price of a ticket will more than double to $5 starting in April 2025, with lottery officials promising larger prizes and more winners.

The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials – and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.