The Mega Millions jackpot on Christmas Eve is set to be this year's ultimate present for the fortunate player who beats the odds of one in 302,575,350 by matching the five white balls along with the gold Mega Ball on Tuesday night. 

The Mega Millions jackpot has not been won since September 10, when a ticket purchased in Texas won an annuitized prize of $810 million. In the 29 drawings that followed, the jackpot increased to an estimated $944 million, offering a one-time cash choice of $429.4 million. 

If the drawing on Tuesday night occurs at 11 p.m. If a winner is found at the Mega Millions draw studio at the Georgia Lottery headquarters in Atlanta at 11 PM EST, the jackpot will become the largest lottery payout in US history for December. At $944 million, the jackpot ranks as the seventh-largest prize in the history of Mega Millions. 

Victors of Friday 

Mega Millions is conducted two times a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. The victorious numbers from last Friday were 2, 20, 51, 56, and 67, with the gold Mega Ball being 19. 

In the drawing on December 20, over two million tickets received prizes at all nonjackpot prize tiers. Five tickets correctly matched the five white balls, winning the game's second-highest prize of $1 million. None of those tickets chose the $1 Megaplier add-on that would have increased their winnings to $2 million after the Megaplier hit 2x. 

An additional 48 tickets matched four out of the five white balls and the Mega Ball for the game’s third-highest prize of $10K. Out of those tickets, eleven featured the Megaplier to double their prizes. 

The majority of the winning tickets — over 1.36 million plays — matched the gold Mega Ball to reclaim their $2 stake. Approximately 265K had the Megaplier, resulting in a $2 gain. 

Massive Revamp 

The way Mega Millions functions is about to be different. In October, the Mega Millions Consortium verified rumors that the base price will increase from $2 to $5 starting in April 2025. 

The $5 ticket, on the other hand, includes the Megaplier by default. This indicates that there won't be any "break-even" results, since a winning ticket next spring will consistently yield more money than the $5 wager placed. 

The odds of winning the jackpot, which stand at about 302.5 million to one, will not alter because the quantity of white and gold Mega Balls will stay unchanged. Mega Millions includes 70 white balls and 25 Mega Balls. 

Officials from Powerball, the main competitor of Mega Millions, state that they do not intend to increase ticket prices or make any alterations to the game. Powerball is set to draw on Monday evening, with the jackpot estimated at $103 million. 

Powerball offers marginally improved jackpot odds compared to Mega Millions, with chances of one in 292.2 million. As the Powerball jackpot tonight is under $150 million, the 10x Power Play multiplier is activated. 

Unsettled $1.13B Invoice 

In March, a Mega Millions ticket purchased at a ShopRite grocery and liquor store in Neptune, NJ, claimed a 30-year annuitized jackpot valued at $1.128 billion. According to the New Jersey Lottery, the ticket for the fifth-largest prize in Mega Millions history has not yet been claimed. 

New Jersey's lottery regulations state that winning tickets must be claimed within 12 months after the lottery draw. The winner has until March 26, 2025, to claim their prize. 

Editor's note: The winning ticket was cashed in just hours following the publication of this article.