The Mega Millions prize rises to $1.15 billion, the highest ever for the month of December

The Mega Millions lottery jackpot hit a record high in December after no winner was found in the Christmas Eve drawing.

The Mega Millions jackpot is now around $1.15 billion ($516.1 million in cash), the highest amount ever offered in December. The next drawing will take place on Friday.

This week marks only the seventh time in history that the jackpot has surpassed $1 billion. If a winner is drawn this week, they will win the fifth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, according to a statement from the organization.

“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as Christmas gifts, and what a gift that would be to end up with a ticket worth $1.15 billion,” says Joshua Johnston , executive director of the Mega Millions consortium, said in a statement.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays – whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice or any other way people celebrate this time of year – than by helping to fulfill the dreams that come with a prize like this and prizes won at all levels of the game,” he added.

However, Christmas Eve was not without winners. The organization said there were 4,292,338 winning tickets at all non-jackpot prize levels. Four tickets – sold in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming – won second prize.

The overall odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, while the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, the organization said.

A lottery puzzle was also solved this week. This year’s first jackpot winner in New Jersey won $1.128 billion on a ticket purchased in March – but he didn’t claim the money until this week, according to a statement from the state lottery.

The winner, who will receive the cash value of the prize of $537.5 million before taxes, has chosen to remain anonymous.

This prize is currently the fifth highest jackpot in the history of the lottery. The largest jackpot of $1.602 billion was won last summer by a player from Florida.

Mega Millions has called 2024 the “most unusual jackpot year.” Only three players have won the jackpot this year, making 2024 the first year there will be fewer than five jackpot winners.