Mega Millions jackpot more than $1B for Friday's drawing. Could you be a winner?

The Mega Millions jackpot is now more than $1.15 billion, the fifth-largest main prize since the multi-state lottery began in 2002.While more than 4.29 million lottery tickets paid out smaller prizes after the Dec. 24 drawing, no one matched all six numbers on Christmas Eve. That means the jackpot has rolled over for Friday’s drawing, according to a news release from the lottery.A winning ticket from the upcoming Dec. 28 drawing could pay out an estimated $516.1 million in cash as only the fourth jackpot win in 2024, the news release added.The Mega Millions jackpot has hit only three times this year, the fewest wins recorded in a single year since the game started. Last year saw 10 jackpot winning tickets, the most in a single year since the lottery made changes in 2013 that included a larger starting jackpot that rolled over more quickly and added a $1-million second-tier prize.There were four second-tier winning tickets sold for the Dec. 24 drawing, one each in California, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. The lottery did not immediately respond to a question about where the winning ticket was sold in Pennsylvania.PA Lotto numbers:Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball, Pick 2 Day results for Dec. 25, 2024Has Pennsylvania ever seen a Mega Millions win?There have been some lucky Pennsylvanians who have picked all six Mega Millions numbers, but only two jackpots have been claimed in the commonwealth over the lottery’s history.The most recent was a $516-million jackpot claimed by five anonymous winners May 21, 2021. Those winners claimed their prize as the Peace of Mind Trust, and Newtown area attorney representing the group described them as residents of “small communities in eastern Pennsylvania.”On May 24, 2014, Carl Szott of Pittsburgh won a $149-million jackpot.A Virginia resident who won a $153-million jackpot in 2015 also purchased his winning ticket from a truck stop in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.A Wawa at 639 East Lincoln Highway in Langhorne sold a $1-million Mega Millions winning ticket in April.Bucks County has also seen a string of smaller lottery winners over the past year:A jackpot-winning Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $3.38 million from the Dec. 6 drawing was sold in Bensalem.A Morrisville Cigarette Outlet along South Delmorr Avenue sold a winning $1-million Powerball lottery ticket in October. A jackpot-winning Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $860,000 was sold at Smoker’s Express, 3 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville-Trevose in July.A $1.6-million Quick Cash ticket was sold in April at the Weis Market at 431 Dublin Pike in Perkasie, in Upper Bucks County, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery.A 7-Eleven in Southampton sold the winning "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" progressive lottery ticket from the Pennsylvania Lottery, worth nearly half a million dollars, last January.How do you win Mega Millions?The cutoff time to purchase a ticket for Mega Millions is 9:59 p.m. the night of the Tuesday and Friday drawings. In addition to many convenience stores and other businesses, tickets can also be purchased online through palottery.pa.gov.Those who play have to match all six numbers drawn in order to win the jackpot. They pick five numbers between 1-70 for the white balls and select one number between 1-25 for the yellow Mega Ball. Anyone who matches all five white balls in any order and pick the correct yellow ball wins the jackpot.If the numbers don’t match any players’ tickets, the jackpot will increase for the next drawing. Winning ticketholders have up to a year to claim their prize.In a multi-state game such as Mega Millions, unclaimed jackpots revert to the participating states based on their contribution to sales. The funds are then distributed as defined by the lottery legislation in each jurisdiction. A winning lotto strategy?:Is there a strategy to winning Powerball and Mega Millions? Top tips for picking numbersPlayers can pick their own numbers or have numbers selected for them when they buy a ticket. The two charts below show how often the numbers players can choose have won recently and how often those numbers win in a year.Chris Ullery can be reached at cullery@couriertimes.com.