The Grinch prevailed because no tickets were sold for the $1 billion Mega Millions Christmas Eve jackpot that matched the six balls needed to win: 11, 14, 38, 45, 46 and a Mega -Ball from 3.

The next estimated top prize is a whopping $1.15 billion, with a cash option of $516.1 million, lottery officials said. It would be the fifth largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won. The next drawing will take place on Friday evening. All total amounts are before taxes.

The prize for Tuesday night’s drawing rose to $1 billion, or $448.8 million for cash, from an estimated $970 million on Monday, as more tickets were sold throughout the day and on Christmas Eve.

The $1 billion jackpot would have been the seventh largest pot of gold ever won on Mega Millions. A player in Florida got this largest, $1.602 billion in a drawing on August 8th.

Two winning Powerball jackpots top it all: an estimated $2.04 billion in California in November 2022 and $1.765 billion, also in California, in October 2023.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been rolling since it was last won in Texas on September 10th for $810 million. Meanwhile, no ticket matched all six numbers previous drawing on Friday eveningwith white balls 2, 20, 51, 56 and 67, plus the golden Mega Ball 19.

If someone had won on Tuesday night, it would have been only the second Mega Millions jackpot won on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve 2002, someone in New York won a $68 million jackpot, but the prize went unclaimed.

Thirteen Mega Millions jackpots have been won in December since the game began in 2002.

Only three Mega Millions jackpots were won this year – the fewest in any year since the game’s inception. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.

Winners have two options: a 30-year annuity that pays the full jackpot amount, or a one-time cash lump sum that is much smaller. But many winners choose to do this in order to receive the money up front.

Mega Millions tickets are available in 45 states as well as Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 per game. Drawings take place on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. EST.

Watch out for lottery scams

If you want to play the lottery, you should be careful of lottery fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission, lottery scams typically involve receiving a phone call, email or letter saying you have won a sweepstakes, lottery or prize. Some scams may require people to pay money to claim their winnings.

Mega Millions says that no lottery representative would ever call, text or email anyone about winning a prize. The game also points out that large jackpots attract the attention of potential cheaters.

“While people need to be vigilant at all times, this is especially true during times of larger jackpots,” the lottery’s website says.

Changes are coming to Mega Millions

Mega Millions tickets are expected to become more expensive next year. Starting in April, it will cost $5 per game, more than double the current $2.

The ticket price change will lead to this bigger jackpots and, according to Mega Millions, better odds of winning. The April change represents the second price increase since the launch of Mega Millions.

“We are creating a game that both our existing players and newcomers to Mega Millions will love and enjoy,” said Joshua Johnston, Executive Director of the Mega Millions Consortium, when the news was announced. “We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, which means that as jackpots increase, more billionaires and many more millionaires will be created. Additionally, this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes wherever Mega Millions is played.”

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Mega Millions began in 2002, not 2022.