DECEMBER 28, 2024: UNDATED (AP)- At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night (Dec. 27, 2024), according to the Mega Millions website. The California Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at Circle K (Sunshine Food and Gas) on Rhonda Road in Cottonwood. The winning ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. The identity of the winner or winners was not immediately known. The total amount of the Mega Millions jackpot would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing is an estimated $549.7 million. Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continued to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grew. Until Friday, the last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was Sept. 10. The largest-ever Mega Millions jackpot ticket worth $1.6 billion was sold in Florida in August 2023. Two prizes for its compatriot Powerball lottery have been larger. Mega Millions and Powerball are sold in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico. Mega Millions ticket prices are set to rise from $2 to $5 in April. The increase will be one of many changes that officials say will result in improved jackpot odds, more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts.   DECEMBER 26, 2024: UNDATED (AP)- Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during Friday’s (Dec. 27, 2024) Mega Millions drawing for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game’s history. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. But 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, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here is a look at the largest U.S. jackpots won and the states where the winning tickets were sold: 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)   DECEMBER 24, 2024: UNDATED (AP)- Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets. The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s (Dec. 27, 2024) drawing is $1.15 billion, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. “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. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, while the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials. Tickets for the game are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays. “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.