The Mega Millions jackpot this holiday season just got bigger, with $825 million now on the line.
According to the Mega Millions website, no tickets matched all six numbers -- 56, 66, 67, 68, 69, and 18 -- to win the jackpot in Tuesday's drawing. Still, a few lucky winners did match five numbers to take home a cool $1 million, including two tickets sold in California, and one each in Louisiana and Oklahoma.
In North Carolina, one ticket matched all five numbers plus the megaplier to score $4 million.
Elsewhere, some tickets won as much as $40,000, after matching four balls plus the Mega Ball. 38 tickets took home $10,000 in Tuesday's drawing, including three in Illinois, the state's lottery website said.
The estimated prize for the next Mega Millions drawing on Friday, Dec. 20, is $825 million, Mega Millions said. The cash option for the winning jackpot would come in at $382.2 million, officials said.
"If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history" lottery officials said.
According to a release, 13 Mega Millions jackpots have been won in December since the game began in 2002, with the majority won before the Christmas holiday.
Local
"There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020," the release said.
This year, the Mega Millions jackpot has only been won three times -- making it the "fewest won" in any single year since the game began, according to officials.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The Mega Millions drawing takes place at 10 p.m. CT Friday. Tickets are $2 each, though they will increase by more than double in 2025.
