The Mega Millions jackpot has jumped to $1.22 billion as ticket sales soar in advance of the Friday drawing. The jackpot has steadily grown following a $1 billion Christmas Eve drawing that didn’t produce a winning jackpot ticket.
On Christmas Day, lottery officials said the estimated grand prize was a gargantuan $1.15 billion, with a cash option of $516.1 million, but that number has since expanded.
“Ticket sales are going through the roof,” a spokesperson for Mega Millions told CBS News, adding that once a jackpot hits this level, there is often a corresponding increase in ticket sales.
The next drawing for the $1.22 billion jackpot is at 11 p.m. ET on Friday.
The cash option for winners that take a lump sum payout is now $549.7 million — a $33.6 million jump from a few days ago, the spokesperson said.
Winners can either take the cash payout or the $1.22 billion annuity paid out over 30 years if a winning jackpot ticket is drawn.
Only three Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year — the fewest in any year since the game started. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
A Mega Millions spokesperson said winners are possible across all the prize tiers even if there isn’t a jackpot winner. On Christmas Eve, four tickets matched the five white balls for the game’s second-tier prize. They were sold in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
It would be the fifth biggest Mega Millions jackpot ever if someone wins. (All the totals are before taxes are taken out.)
courtesy Mega Millions
Aliza Chasan and
contributed to this report.
