California lottery players are hoping for a very merry Christmas, with Tuesday night’s multi-state Mega Millions jackpot sitting at $1 billion — the seventh-largest prize in the game’s history.
No tickets were sold matching all six numbers in Friday’s game, the 29th drawing since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold.
Tuesday’s drawing will take place at 8 p.m. Ticket sales are halted from 7:45-7:50 p.m. Tickets sold after 7:45 p.m. are ineligible for Tuesday night’s drawing and are entered into Friday’s drawing.
The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number are 1 in 302,575,350, according to the California Lottery. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24.
The Mega Millions game began in 1996 as The Big Game and was given the new name Mega Millions in 2002. It is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands.