Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets. The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. The estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is now $1.15 billion, potentially making it the fifth-largest 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 Wednesday statement.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets, costing $2 each, are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Half of the proceeds from each ticket sale remain in the state where it was purchased. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“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,” Johnston added.