Mega Millions players across US miss $862 million jackpot — but still win millions
Mega Millions tickets sold in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania matched five numbers to win millions and just missed the $862 million jackpot, lottery officials say.
The tickets matched five winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, in the drawing Friday, Dec. 20, the national Mega Millions site said.
The winning tickets each won $1 million. Two winning tickets were sold in Indiana.
Nobody won the grand prize, which now rises to an estimated $944 million, with a cash option of approximately $429.4 million, for the next drawing Tuesday, Dec. 24, the site said.
The winning numbers were 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67 with a Mega Ball of 19, the lottery said. The Megaplier was 2x.
More than 2 million other tickets sold in the United States won prizes ranging from $2 to $20,000 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 22, 2024 at 9:30 AM.