Mega Millions didn't provide a transformative present on Christmas Eve, as no ticket matched all six winning numbers on Tuesday night. 

The Mega Millions jackpot increased for the 30th time after no one won the game's highest prize. The numbers drawn on Tuesday were 1, 14, 38, 45, and 46, along with the gold Mega Ball 3. 

Officials from Mega Millions forecast that the jackpot for the drawing on Friday night will hit $1.15 billion. That would be considered the fifth-highest prize in the game's history. Mega Millions originated in 1996 when it was launched as The Big Game. 

The Mega Millions Consortium, which runs the interstate lottery game for its 47 member jurisdictions, reports that the prize is increasing rapidly during the holiday gift-giving period.

"We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays — whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or any other way people choose to celebrate the season — than by helping fulfill the dreams that come with a prize like this and prizes that will be won at all levels of the game.”

The cash option available for Friday’s drawing is estimated to be approximately $516.1 million. The chances of a ticket winning the jackpot are merely one in over 302.5 million. 

Jackpot Barely Misses Out on Winners 

Over 100 tickets nearly won Tuesday night’s jackpot. 110 tickets corresponded to five of the six balls. 

Four tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. None of the tickets bought the $1 Megaplier add-on, which would have increased their winnings to $3 million after the Megaplier was 3x. The chances of matching all five white balls are one in 12.6 million. 

Additionally, there were 116 tickets that matched the four white balls along with the gold Mega Ball, earning $10K each, which is the game's third-highest prize. The chances of a ticket aligning with that combination are one in 931,000. Thirteen of those tickets included the Megaplier for a chance to win $30K. 

Furthermore, there were 2,621 tickets that matched four white balls for $500 prizes, of which 452 included the Megaplier, resulting in $1,500 wins. Those chances are one in 38,792. 

The majority of winning tickets on Tuesday — over 2.8 million entries — matched solely the gold Mega Ball to recover their $2 bet. A total of 516,461 tickets purchased the Megaplier. The probability of reclaiming your original bet is one in 37, since there are 37 gold Mega Balls. 

Upcoming Price Increase 

Starting in April, the price of a standard Mega Millions ticket will jump 285% to $5. The quantity of balls, and consequently the odds for the jackpot, will stay unchanged. Every ticket will automatically include the Megaplier, ensuring that each winning ticket will yield more than the initial $5 bet. 

The current Megaplier enhances nonjackpot victories by 2x, 3x, 4x, and 5x. In April, a 10x Megaplier will be available as well.