Mega Millions jackpot grows to $862M for Friday night's drawing

NEW YORK -- Mega Millions is heating up just in time for winter! The jackpot grew again after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night.

Tuesday's numbers were the white balls 56, 66, 67, 68 and 69, plus the gold Mega Ball 18

The estimated prize for the next drawing on Friday, December 20, is a whopping $862 million ($392.1 million cash).

If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history!

Thirteen Mega Millions jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002. Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas. 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 Mega Millions jackpot was last won at $810 million in Texas on September 10.

Before that September 10 prize in the Lone Star State, the Mega Millions jackpot was won only twice earlier this year. A $552 million windfall was awarded to an Illinois online player on June 4, and a whopping $1.128 billion prize still awaits a ticket-holder in New Jersey; no one has yet come forward to claim that jackpot from March 26. If not claimed, this ticket will expire on March 26, 2025, and the unpaid prize will revert back to each participating Mega Millions jurisdiction.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.

Top Mega Millions Jackpots

1. $1.602 billion, August 8, 2023 (one ticket in Florida)
2. $1.537 billion, October 23, 2018 (one ticket in South Carolina)
3. $1.348 billion, January 13, 2023 (one ticket in Maine)
4. $1.337 billion, July 29, 2022 (one ticket in Illinois)
5. $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024 (one ticket in New Jersey)
6. $1.050 billion, January 22, 2021 (one ticket in Michigan)
7. $800 million, September 10, 2024 (one ticket in Texas)
8. $656 million, March 30, 2012, (three tickets in Illinois, Kansas, Maryland)
9. $648 million, December 17, 2013 (two tickets sold in California, Georgia)
10. $552 million, June 4, 2024 (one ticket in Illinois)

Here is a look at the 10 largest U.S. jackpots that have been won and the states where the winning tickets were sold:

1. $2.040 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 (one ticket: California)
2. $1.765 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 (one ticket: California)
3. $1.602 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023 (one ticket: Florida)
4. $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets: California, Florida and Tennessee)

5. $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket: South Carolina)
6. $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023 (one ticket: Maine)
7. $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket: Illinois)
8. $1.128 billion, March 26, 2024 (one ticket in New Jersey)
9. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July, 19, 2023 (one ticket: California)
10. $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket: Michigan)