Mega Millions rises to $1.15B after Tuesday yields no winner – NBC Los Angeles

There was no Merry Christmas for lottery players Tuesday.

Christmas Eve came and went with no winning ticket for the jackpot prize that reached $1 billion. The next draw will now be held on Friday, Dec. 27 at 11 p.m. ET.

Here were the winning numbers for Tuesday’s drawing:  38, 45, 14, 46, 11 and a MegaBall of 3. The Megaplier was 3X.

At least four winners thus far claimed the top $1 million prize for having the five-number combination, but did not land the MegaBall correctly.

The jackpot, which would rank as the sixth-largest Mega Millions lottery prize ever, has been growing for more than three months, reflecting the long odds of 1 in 303 million of winning the top prize. The last time someone hit the jackpot was on Sept. 10 after a player in Texas won $800 million.

The $1.15 billion prize is for a sole winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity with 30 annual payments. Winners almost always prefer the cash option, which for the next drawing Friday night would be an estimated $448.8 million-plus.

The Mega Millions is played in 45 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET.

The top Mega Millions jackpots:

If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction, please call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 to speak to a counselor. Help is also available via an online peer support forum at www.gamtalk.org, and additional resources can be found at NCPG website.

Mega Millions by the numbers

Forty-five states plus Washington, D.C., participate in the Mega Millions drawings. Find out which state has hit the jackpot the most and what numbers seem to come up most often.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.