News writer
Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for four Mega Millions players who came very close to hitting it big time. While the jackpot continues to grow, those who matched all five of the white ball numbers still walked away with hefty prizes.
And now, with no grand prize winner, the jackpot continues to climb, reaching a staggering $740 million for the next drawing. Let’s take a closer look at the winning numbers and where those winning tickets were purchased.
What were the latest winning numbers?
The latest Mega Millions drawing was held on Friday, December 13, 2024, and the winning white ball numbers were 36, 43, 52, 58, and 65, and the Mega Ball was 16. The Megaplier for Friday’s drawing was 3X.
There were no jackpot winners again, pushing the jackpot up to $740 million, with a cash option of $342.9 million for the next drawing.
Four Match 5 prize winners
While there were no jackpot winners from the last Mega Millions drawing, there were four players that had a pretty lucky Friday the 13th. Four tickets matched all five of the winning white ball numbers to win the Match 5 prize. One of those four winners added the Megaplier option to their ticket, so they won three times the prize amount.
Two of the Match 5 winners were in New York and Massachusetts, so they each won $1 million. The third Match 5 winner was in California, which adjusts prizes based on tickets sold and number of winners. They won $360,000.
Meanwhile, one player in Vermont included the Megaplier option when buying their ticket, so they won $3 million.
Where were the winning tickets sold? According to the California Lottery, the winning California ticket was sold at OK Liquor, located in Long Beach. In New York, the winning ticket was purchased in Nassau. The winning Massachusetts ticket was sold at Ghafour Fuel in Norwood. No details have been released yet on where the winning Vermont ticket was purchased.
Closer and closer to $1 billion
With no jackpot winner, that means the Mega Millions jackpot continues to climb. There have been no jackpot winners in the multi-state draw game since September 10, when a Texas player hit the $810 million grand prize.
The latest jackpot run now stands at $740 million for the next drawing, which will take place on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 11 p.m. ET. Despite the increase in the jackpot size, this current jackpot still stands as the eighth largest jackpot ever in the game’s history.
An early Christmas present
As we get closer and closer to Christmas, the Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow. How amazing of a Christmas present would winning this jackpot be?
The last time the jackpot grew to levels like this in the days before Christmas was in 2013. At that time, there was a $648 million prize that was shared between winners in California and Georgia on December 17.
On December 17, 2019, the jackpot made its way up to $375 million and one lucky ticketholder in Ohio won the jackpot. Here we are, 15 years later, and the next drawing takes place on December 17. Could that date bring another Mega Millions winner?
Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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