No winner came forward on Christmas Eve to claim the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, but a handful of people will still be looking at a ho-ho-whole lot of green.
The jackpot inched up to $1.15 billion after no winner was announced following Tuesday night's drawing. Tuesday’s winning numbers were 11, 14, 38, 45, 46 and a Mega Ball of 3 with a 3X Megaplier.
Though no one took home the jackpot, four people — from California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming — matched five numbers but not the Mega Ball. With the Megaplier, their $1 million prize turned into $3 million.
The next drawing will be Friday at 11 p.m. ET.
“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 news release.
A winner who picks a lump sum option would receive less than half of that amount, though $516.1 million is still certain to fill up quite a few stockings.
The current jackpot has been growing since the last winner on Sept. 10 — a person in Texas who took home the $810 million prize.
If someone does win the next Mega Millions jackpot in the remaining two drawings of the year, it would be the largest prize ever won in December.
Some of the largest wins in Mega Millions history have occurred in the last few years. The largest prize was awarded last year to a single winner from Florida, whose ticket cashed in on a 1.6 billion jackpot.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Council on Problem Gambling for help at 1-800-522-4700, or go online at ncpgambling.org/chat.
