Mega Millions players across US miss $1 billion jackpot — but still win millions

Mega Millions tickets sold in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming matched five numbers to win millions and just missed the $1 billion jackpot, lottery officials say.

The tickets matched five winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, in the drawing Tuesday, Dec. 24, the national Mega Millions site said.

The winning tickets each won at least $1 million.

Nobody won the grand prize, which now rises to an estimated $1.15 billion, with a cash option of approximately $516.1 million, for the next drawing Friday, Dec. 27, the site said.

The winning numbers were 11, 14, 38, 45 and 46 with a Mega Ball of 3, the lottery said. The Megaplier was 3x.

More than 4.2 million other tickets sold in the United States won prizes ranging from $2 to $30,000 in the drawing, the lottery said.

The Mega Millions jackpot has gone unclaimed since Sept. 10, when a Texas player hit the $810 million grand prize, lottery officials said.

What to know about Mega Millions

To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Officials have announced they will cost $5 starting in April.

Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

This story was originally published December 26, 2024 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Mega Millions players across US miss $1 billion jackpot — but still win millions."