The Mega Giants jackpot has surpassed $1bn after no ticket hit all six numbers on Christmas Eve. That means the estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing is $1.15bn, potentially the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
“We know a lot of people will be getting tickets for Friday’s holiday giveaway, and what a gift it would be if the $1.15bn jackpot ticket ended,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Giant Mega Consortium, said in a statement on Wednesday.
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.
Hunting tickets are sold in 45 states, along with Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands, and cost $2. One half proceeds from the sale of each remaining ticket in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are held at 11pm Eastern on Tuesdays and Fridays.