The Mega Millions jackpot moved significantly closer to the $1 billion mark after a string of non-jackpot winners on Friday night.
There were several winners in Friday night’s drawing, but the estimated $825 million jackpot was left stranded because no ticket matched all six numbers. The current estimate is $944 million, with a $429.4 million cash option if he wins. Now the question is, will someone get lucky in the next drawing on Christmas Eve?
According to MegaMillions.com, 13 jackpots have been won in December since the game’s inception in 2002. Three were won after Christmas and before New Year’s, and the rest were won before Christmas. If you paint on Christmas Eve, chances are someone will wake up on Christmas morning with the best holiday gift in their hands.
Take a look at Friday’s latest Mega Millions winning numbers and how often jackpots of $1 billion or more are being seen these days.
Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, December 20, 2024
Friday night’s winning numbers were 2, 20, 51, 56, 67 and the Mega Ball was 19. The megaplier was 2X.
When is the next Mega Millions drawing?
The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24, 2024 at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, 10:00 PM Central Time.
Did anyone win Mega Millions last night, 12/20/24?
Although no one won the big prize, there were 2,068,988 winning tickets across all non-jackpot prize levels, including five winning $1 million. One car was sold in Indiana, one in Arkansas, one in Illinois, and one in Pennsylvania.
How much does a Mega Millions lottery ticket cost?
Mega Millions tickets cost $2 per play. For an additional $1, players can add a Megaplier to increase their non-jackpot winnings.
What are the chances of winning the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot?
The lottery numbers start going up and you dream about what you can do with all your winnings, but the chances of winning big are pretty slim.
Lou Lefton, a faculty member at Georgia Tech’s School of Mathematics, said in a USA TODAY article that lottery games almost always only make money for private companies hired by the state to run them. In fact, he added, it’s now even harder to hit the jackpot with Mega Millions or Powerball, as recent rules have made the odds longer and lottery games sell more tickets.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot, regardless of size, are approximately 1 in 292.2 million.
How often does the lottery win more than $1 billion?
It’s not as rare as it used to be for Powerball or Mega Millions to reach the $1 billion mark.
In the past five years, there have been 10 jackpots between Mega Millions and Powerball, totaling more than $1 billion. And in 2024, two things happened.
The first happened in March when the Mega Millions reached $1.13 billion and the winning ticket was sold in New Jersey. The second time was in April, when Powerball hit a record $1.326 billion, with the winning ticket coming from the state of Oregon.
The lottery’s highest jackpot was $2.04 billion in November 2022. This was the second jackpot of the year to exceed $1 billion. Prior to that, 2021, 2018, and 2016 were the only years in which the jackpot exceeded 1 billion.
How many times has Mega Millions reached $1 billion?
According to Mega Millions, Mega Millions has topped $1 billion six times in the history of the game. South Carolina reached the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2018, but it will be several years before it reaches that level again. The second jackpot of more than $1 billion was won in Michigan in 2021, followed by Illinois in 2022, Maine in early 2023, Florida in August 2023, and the last jackpot It was acquired in New Jersey in March.
Is there anyone who hasn’t won a billion dollar lottery ticket?
Yes, that’s something that happened recently this year.
Mega Millions still has a $1.128 billion prize won in New Jersey on March 26th that remains unclaimed. Winning tickets can be submitted up to one year after winning. Mega Millions says New Jersey winners must claim their winnings by March 26, 2025, or unclaimed winnings will be returned to each participating Mega Millions jurisdiction. .
Has anyone won the $1 billion lottery in Tennessee?
Powerball made history on January 11, 2016, when its first jackpot exceeded $1 billion. So did a couple in Tennessee.
John and Lisa Robinson of Munford had one of three winning tickets for the historic jackpot. Before the couple confirmed their Tennessee lottery win, they headed to the “Today” show to announce their win. John and Lisa Robinson received a lump sum of just over $327 million before taxes, according to Tennessee Lottery officials. According to a 2016 USA TODAY article, they received millions of dollars immediately and were to receive the rest of their winnings about 10 days later.
The Munfords became the biggest winners in Tennessee history.
What should I do if I win the lottery?
US Lottery Top 10 Lottery Powerball and Mega Millions Jackpot Results
According to powerball.com, the top 10 national Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots of all time are:
$2.04 billion, Powerball – November 7, 2022. California. $1.765 billion, Powerball – October 11, 2023. California. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions – August 8, 2023. Florida. $1.586 billion, Powerball – January 13, 2016. California, Florida, Tennessee. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions – October 23, 2018. South Carolina. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions – January 13, 2023. Maine. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions — July 29, 2022. Illinois. $1.326 billion, Powerball — April 6, 2024. Oregon $1.13 billion, Mega Millions – March 26, 2024. New Jersey. $1.08 Billion, Powerball – July 19, 2023. California.
Top 10 Mega Millions Jackpots
The latest jackpot ranks among the top 10 largest Mega Millions jackpots of all time.
$1.602 billion — August 8, 2023. Florida. $1.537 billion — October 23, 2018. South Carolina. $1.35 billion — January 13, 2023. Maine. $1.337 billion — July 29, 2022. Illinois. $1.13 billion — March 26, 2024. New Jersey. $1.05 billion — January 22, 2021. Michigan $944 million (estimated) — Currently $810 million — September 10, 2024. Texas $656 million — March 30, 2012. Illinois, Kansas, Maryland $648 million — December 17, 2013. california, georgia
