The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $1 billion for the Christmas Eve drawing, marking the seventh-largest prize in the game's history. Strong ticket sales over the past 48 hours prompted organizers to increase the jackpot from its initial projection of $944 million.

Top Mega Millions Jackpots:

• $1.602B (Florida, Aug. 2023)
• $1.537B (South Carolina, Oct. 2018)
• $1.348B (Maine, Jan. 2023)
• $1.337B (Illinois, July 2022)
• $1.128B (New Jersey, March 2024)
• $1.05B (Michigan, Jan. 2021)
• $1B (Current jackpot, Dec. 2024)

The odds of winning are 1 in 302,575,350. For comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 40 million.

Tonight's winner can choose between:

• 30-year annuity payments totaling $1 billion
• One-time cash payment of $448.8 million (approximately $282.8 million after federal taxes)

State taxes vary from 2.5% to 10.9%, except in California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, where lottery winnings aren't taxed.

The drawing takes place at 11 p.m. EST in Atlanta, with ticket sales closing one hour before. If no winner emerges, the jackpot will roll over for a 30th time for Friday's drawing.

Modern electronic sales systems have improved jackpot projections compared to the paper-based reporting of the 1990s, allowing for more accurate estimates of prize amounts.

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