Mega Millions jackpot tops $1B for Christmas week drawing

There was no winner in Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot worth an estimated $970 million.

Friday’s jackpot is now $1.15 billion, one of the largest in the game’s history.

Tuesday’s winning numbers were: 11-14-38-45-46, Mega Ball 3. One ticket sold in Lemoore, Calif., won $1.7 million by matching the first five numbers.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302 million, according to lottery organizers, and the last jackpot was won in Texas on Sept. 10 for $810 million.

Only three tickets won the Mega Millions jackpot this year, the fewest since the multistate game launched in 2002.

There have been 13 jackpot winners in December in the game’s history, but only one winning ticket was pulled on Christmas Eve — in 2002. That winning ticket was sold in New York for a $68-million prize that ultimately went unclaimed, according to the lottery organizers.

While some people swear by their lucky numbers, there is little rhyme or reason behind purchasing a winning ticket.

That being said, there are some locations that have sold more winning tickets than others. The California Lottery lists “Lucky Store” locations on its website.

Bluebird Liquor in Hawthorne has a long, storied history of selling winning tickets to SoCal residents. Since 2021, the liquor store has sold four winning Powerball and four Mega Millions tickets, according to data from the California Lottery.

Joe’s Service Center in Altadena sold a winning ticket for a $2-billion Powerball prize in November 2022.

Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles sold a winning ticket that won a $1.08-billion prize in June 2023.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In April, the price of a Mega Millions ticket will increase to $5, but game organizers say they will increase the odds of winning, though details aren’t yet available.