Mega Millions player just misses $1.2 billion jackpot in Missouri — but still wins big
A Mega Millions ticket sold in Missouri won $1 million, lottery officials say.
The ticket matched five winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, in the drawing Friday, Dec. 27, the national Mega Millions site said.
A California player hit the $1.2 billion grand prize in the drawing.
Tickets sold in Arizona, California and Texas also matched five numbers to win $1 million, the national Mega Millions site said.
The grand prize now drops to an estimated $20 million, with a cash option of approximately $9 million, for the next drawing Tuesday, Dec. 31, the site said.
The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49 and 55 with a Mega Ball of 6, the lottery said. The Megaplier was 3x.
More than 5.6 million other tickets sold in the United States won prizes ranging from $2 to $30,000 in the drawing, the lottery said.
The Mega Millions jackpot had 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 29, 2024 at 9:30 AM.