Mega Millions ticket holders looking to win a $1 billion jackpot are in for a blue Christmas.
No one matched all six numbers in Tuesday's drawing as the lottery's top prize soared to $1.15 billion, the fifth-largest prize in the game's history.
Tuesday's winning numbers were 11, 14, 38, 45, 46, Mega Ball 3.
Four players from California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming won $1 million on five white balls but missed out on the coveted gold ball to win the top prize on Christmas Eve.
The lottery said more than 4.2 million ticket holders won prizes during the drawing.
“We know that many people will likely receive tickets for Friday's drawing as a holiday gift, with a final jackpot worth $1.15 billion,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium. What a great gift it would be if we got a ticket worth it.” Said.
“Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or any other way people celebrate this season, what better way to celebrate the holidays than by helping them realize the dreams that come with prizes like these? I can't think of anything, including prizes that can be won at every level of the game.
Jackpot hopefuls also have a chance to win an estimated $516.1 million in prizes ahead of Friday's next drawing.
The staggering jackpot has grown even bigger since September when a lucky winner in Texas claimed a mind-boggling $810 million prize.
Before Tuesday night's drawing, Queen's Deli employee Patel estimated she had sold more than 100 tickets on Christmas Eve.
“It's tough, I'm very busy,” the 22-year-old, who works part-time at Forest Deli in Ridgewood, told the Post.
“Of course they want to win a billion dollars. They say, 'We'll give it to charity,' 'We'll give it to you, too.' We are looking forward to it for our customers as well. If my customer wins, I'm happy. ”
Friday's winner marks the seventh time in the game's history that a jackpot of more than $1 billion has been won.
Previous winners include South Carolina in October 2018 ($1.537 billion), Michigan in January 2021 ($1.05 billion), and Illinois in July 2022 ($1.337 billion). $), Maine in January 2023 ($1.348 billion), and Florida in August 2023. ($1.602 billion), and most recently in New Jersey in March 2024 ($1.128 billion).
It took nine months for the New Jersey winner to come forward and claim the sixth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
NBC New York reported on Monday that the unidentified winner, who will remain anonymous, submitted a golden ticket worth $1.128 billion to begin the recovery process.
Tickets to play Mega Millions on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11pm in Atlanta, Georgia are $2 including a drawing.
The odds of winning a total of $1 billion are 1 in 302,575,350.
