Mega Millions jackpot soars to $862M for tonight

With Christmas right around the corner, the Mega Millions jackpot is bringing holiday excitement to players across the country. The top prize has soared to a life-changing $862 million.

Lottery officials are eager to crown the fourth jackpot winner of 2024, but if luck doesn't strike tonight, the prize could grow even larger — perhaps even reaching the coveted $1 billion mark. As ticket sales surge with the peaked interest in winning this eye-popping jackpot, one question remains — will this festive season bring the ultimate gift, or will the jackpot continue to climb?

Looking for the fourth jackpot winner of 2024

As we head into tonight's Mega Millions drawing, lottery officials are looking for the fourth jackpot winner of 2024. It would definitely be a nice Christmas gift for the lucky winner, as they would win the $862 million jackpot. The cash option for tonight's drawing is $392.1 million.

The current jackpot run began on September 13, 2024. Tonight's drawing will be the 29th drawing since the jackpot was last won. The last Mega Millions winner was for the September 10, 2024, drawing, when one lucky ticket in Texas matched all six of the winning numbers to win the $810 million jackpot that night.

The other two Mega Millions jackpot wins for 2024 are:

• $560 million – Winning ticket purchased in Illinois for the June 4 drawing.
• $1.12 billion – Winning ticket purchased in New Jersey for the March 26 drawing, which has yet to be claimed by the winner.

Jackpot is the seventh largest in history

While there have only been three jackpot winners in 2024, that means we have also seen some impressive jackpot wins this year. For this current jackpot run, the $862 million lands at the seventh spot on the overall list. Here is a breakdown of the Top 10 Mega Millions jackpots all-time:

1. $1.6 billion – August 8, 2023, drawing with one winning ticket sold in Florida.
2. $1.54 billion – October 23, 2018, drawing with one winning ticket sold in South Carolina.
3. $1.35 billion – January 13, 2023, drawing with one winning ticket sold in Maine.
4. $1.34 billion – July 29, 2022, drawing with one winning ticket sold in Illinois.
5. $1.13 billion – March 26, 2024, drawing with one winning ticket sold in New Jersey.
6. $1.05 billion – January 22, 2021, drawing with one winning ticket sold in Michigan.
7. $862 million – December 20, 2024 drawing, but will there be a winner?
8. $810 million – September 10, 2024, drawing with one winning ticket sold in Texas.
9. $656 million – March 30, 2012, drawing with three winning tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland.
10. $648 million – December 17, 2013, drawing with two winning tickets sold in California and Georgia.

Could the jackpot reach $1 billion in 2024?

While we are all hoping to win the Mega Millions jackpot tonight, the odds of winning the jackpot are still 1 in 302.6 million. Some pretty hard odds, so we could see the jackpot increase even higher after tonight's drawing.

A lot of players are wondering if we could see another $1 billion jackpot for Mega Millions if no one wins tonight. Based on the $1.13 billion jackpot won earlier this year, it looks like it could take two more draws before it would cross the $1 billion mark.

For that $1.13 billion jackpot, it stood at $893 million and then $977 million before hitting the $1.13 billion mark. That means if no one wins tonight's drawing, it most likely will go up to about $950 million for the Tuesday, December 24, drawing.

Then if no one wins that drawing, it would then most likely cross the $1 billion mark for the Friday, December 27, drawing. So, we definitely could see a $1 billion jackpot in 2024, depending on how these next two draws go.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.