Thousands of lottery ticket buyers across America are hoping a Christmas miracle will help them stuff their stockings with cash this season as the Mega Millions jackpot has soared to historic heights.
Ahead of a Christmas Eve drawing, the total for the largest largest game in the U.S. is currently $970 million, an estimated cash value of $439.9 million, according to the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.
No lucky winner has been drawn for the game since September 10, marking the fewest winners ever announced in a calendar year since Mega Millions’ inception in 2002. If a holiday winner does match all five white balls in Tuesday night’s drawing, it would be the largest sum ever won in December and seventh largest in history.
For reference, the largest win ever came just last year, when a Florida couple cashed a $1.602 billion prize. But while a winner wouldn’t top that total this Christmas Eve, the pot is still 47 times larger than when it began at $20 million for the September 13 drawing.
The current jackpot for Mississippi’s Match 5, which draws each evening, is currently $54,000.
Tonight’s Christmas Eve Mega Millions drawing will take place at 10 p.m.
