The Mega Millions jackpot has reached over $1 billion, with the odds of winning being 1 in 302 million, even if you received a ticket as a Christmas gift. No ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve, so the jackpot is growing for the next drawing on December 27. If won on Friday, officials expect it to be the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. The odds of winning the $1.15 billion jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, making the chances of winning very slim, as it is more likely to be struck by lightning or bitten by a shark.
Buying additional lottery tickets may increase a person’s odds of winning, but the increase may be small and not necessarily worth it. Since each lottery is an independent event, the odds of winning remain the same game to game, regardless of how often a person plays. Giving lottery tickets as gifts has become popular over the years, often used as a stocking stuffer, allowing people to hedge their chances for a larger gift. The drawn numbers on December 24 were 11, 14, 38, 45, 46, and the Mega Ball 3. There were over 4 million winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels from that drawing, with only four tickets matching the five white balls.
There have been 30 drawings since the last jackpot was won on September 10, where a Texas cardholder won $810 million. This year has seen the fewest wins in a single year since the game began in 2002, with only three jackpot wins. Tickets for the Mega Millions game are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, costing $2 per ticket. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remain in the state where it was sold. Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday. The next drawing for the $1.15 billion jackpot will be held at 11 p.m. EST on December 27.
Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, expressed his excitement for the upcoming drawing, stating that there is no better way to celebrate the holidays than by helping fulfill dreams with a prize like this. Social media users are sharing images and GIFs of clowns with the caption “me on my way to play the Mega Millions and try to win $1 billion.” With only two more drawings left in the year, the anticipation is building, as only three jackpot wins have occurred in 2024, the fewest in a year since the game’s inception in 2002. 2023 saw the most jackpot wins in a single year, totaling 10, since a major matrix change in 2013.
