If someone wins the Christmas Eve Mega Millions grand prize, it ill be the largest jackpot ever won in the month of December.

Hang onto those stocking-stuffer lottery tickets. The Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $1 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Christmas Eve.

Historically, December has seen 13 Mega Millions jackpots since the game's inception in 2002 with only one of those wins on Christmas Eve.

A lucky lottery player may get a big present on Christmas Eve: The Mega Millions jackpot is nearly $1 billion. Tuesday's drawing is for an estimated $970 million, or $439.9 million in cash, according to the lottery.

“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,” Lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium Joshua Johnston said.

The Mega Millions jackpot could become the Christmas gift of a lifetime for players Tuesday night as the estimated grand prize for the Christmas Eve drawing is now worth $1 billion. Mega Millions officials announced the latest estimated jackpot Tuesday afternoon, hours before the drawing is set to take place at 11 p.m. EST.

With no one winning the jackpot Friday, the grand prize for Tuesday’s drawing ballooned from $862 million to $944 million, according to the lottery. A jackpot winner in Tuesday’s drawing could choose to receive the money in annuitized payments or take a lump sum estimated at $429.4 million.

Did you play Mega Millions today? Check out the winning numbers for the Jan. 3, 2025 drawing and see if it's your lucky day.

There were no tickets sold with all six numbers in the latest drawing of the multi-state Mega Millions lottery, pushing the estimated jackpot for Tuesday's drawing to $62 million.