Mega Millions Jackpot Soars Past $1 Billion For Friday’s Drawing

There may be one more big gift this holiday season for a lucky winner (or several) as the Mega Millions jackpot reaches a record-high payout of $1.15 billion. The next drawing is on Friday, December 27.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2 a piece, per the Associated Press. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, and the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, the outlet noted. Tickets are available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The last Mega Millions jackpot win was back on September 10 when someone won $810 million in Texas. The total jackpot has been growing ever since and has become one of the largest of all time. The Christmas Eve jackpot was worth $1 billion or an estimated $448.8 million lump-sum payment after taxes, per USA Today.

No one won the jackpot on Christmas Eve, but four people from CA, MO, PA, and WY won $1 million in the Match 5 lottery that night.

As of now, the largest U.S. jackpots won are as follows:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket, from California)
2. $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket, from California)
3. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket, from Florida)
4. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
5. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
6. $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket, from Maine)
7. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
8. $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024 (one ticket, Oregon)
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024 (one ticket, from New Jersey)
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023 (one ticket, from California)