*The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $1.15 billion, making it the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history.
The next drawing is scheduled for Friday (Dec. 27) at 11 p.m. ET, with a cash payout option estimated at $516.1 million, ABC News reports.
The jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve; the numbers drawn were 11, 14, 38, 45, 46 and gold Mega Ball 3.
“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 Wednesday statement, per The Associated Press.
According to lottery officials, the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.
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No one has claimed the grand prize in the past 30 drawings. The most recent win occurred on September 10 in Texas, when the prize was $810 million.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays – whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or any other way people choose to celebrate the season – than by helping fulfill the dreams that come with a prize like this and prizes that will be won at all levels of the game,” Johnston said.
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