CNN
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As shoppers search for the perfect Christmas gift, the real treasure may just be hidden in a lucky lottery ticket. That’s because tonight’s Mega Millions drawing could bring a jackpot of nearly $1 billion – the largest prize ever offered in December.

Friday’s winning numbers were: 2, 20, 51, 56, 67 and Mega Ball 19.

The Mega Millions jackpot rose to $862 million on Friday, Joshua Johnston, executive director of the Mega Millions syndicate, told CNN, increasing by $37 million from an initial forecast of $825 million Jackpot. If someone wins on Friday, the lucky winner will take home a lump sum of $392.1 million.

“I would love to be the family of the person who won this – your Christmas will be great!” said Johnston.

“There’s really no product on the market for two dollars that gives you the opportunity over the course of a few days to just imagine and dream what it would be like to win that amount of money,” he said. “And it’s just so fun to think about, especially around the holidays when there’s already a hint of magic in the air.”

Friday’s drawing is part of what the Mega Millions organization is calling the “most unusual jackpot year.” Since Mega Millions began in 2002, there has not been a single year in which all jackpots won were among the top ten prizes awarded at the time.

This means that 2024 was a year of exceptional, record-breaking jackpots. Let’s break it down.

September

A Houston-area resident claimed September’s $800 million Mega Millions jackpot at a Sugar Land gas station a month after purchasing the winning ticket at a convenience store. The winner, The Sol Living Trust, secured the winnings from the cash value option and received over $409 million before taxes, which was the largest prize ever paid to a single player, according to the Texas Lottery.

June

In June, an anonymous player in Illinois took home $552 million after entering the winning numbers on an online lottery purchase.

“I was scrolling through my emails when I saw one from the Illinois Lottery saying to check my numbers because I won a prize,” the winner, dubbed “MEGA Millionaire,” told Illinois officials State Lottery. “You cannot imagine my shock and disbelief when I saw that I had won the $552 million jackpot. I actually quit the app and then logged in again to double check if it was real. It was real, all right – but it still feels unreal!”

The online win was a significant moment for digital lottery platforms.

march

The clock is ticking for a New Jersey Mega Millions ticket holder who has yet to secure the whopping $1.13 billion prize for selecting the winning lottery numbers for the March 26 drawing. According to the New Jersey Lottery, winners have one year from the date of the drawing to claim their prize. The billionaire mystery winner purchased the jackpot winning ticket at a ShopRite Liquor store in Monmouth County.

Historically, December has been a pretty lucky month for players, with 13 jackpots won during the holiday. However, the chances of winning were not that high on Christmas Day. According to the Mega Millions organization, no one has ever won a jackpot on Christmas Day.

But it looks like hope and wishful thinking will prevail this season.

“The holidays tend to see an increase in sales,” Johnston explained, adding that the increase in ticket sales occurs when people are out and about shopping. “But the super cool thing about this particular case is that we’re at $862 million and someone can come in and walk out with $392.1 million.”