Americans still dreaming of a big Christmas present are keeping that dream alive.
“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,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays,” he said.
There has been a steady stream of people purchasing Mega Millions tickets, with more expected tomorrow, Porter said.
“For $2, you can dream about what you would do with all that money,” Porter said.
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.
In October 2018, Bee-Gee’s Mini Market in Kettering sold a $1 million ticket in a Mega Millions drawing.
“Everybody’s excited to possibly get all their holiday bills paid,” Porter said.
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)
Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Ga.
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