Just two days after an Arkansas ticket scooped up a staggering $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve, hopeful players turned to Mega Millions for their own holiday miracle.
Alas, the $125 million jackpot on Friday, December 26, went unclaimed, leaving the prize pot intact for the next eager dreamers.
The rollover means the jackpot will swell further for the upcoming Tuesday drawing, keeping lottery fever simmering into the new year.
While no one walked away with the grand prize, a single ticket in Kentucky matched five white balls, doubling to a cool $2 million thanks to the built-in multiplier – proof that even near-misses can pay handsomely.
This modest outcome follows the Powerball’s blockbuster win, reminding players that lightning rarely strikes the same lottery family twice in one week. Convenience stores across 45 states likely saw a post-holiday dip in sales, as some wallets recovered from festive spending.
The winning numbers drawn on December 26 were 9, 19, 31, 63, 64, with the gold Mega Ball 7. No ticket matched all six, extending the drought since the last jackpot win on December 2, when a New Jersey player claimed $90 million.
That Garden State victor was the sixth jackpot winner of 2025 for Mega Millions, a year that’s delivered plenty of big checks but none quite on the scale of the neighboring Powerball’s recent extravaganza.
Players shell out $5 per ticket these days, a price hike that includes an automatic multiplier boosting non-jackpot prizes. It’s a small premium for the chance at life-changing sums, though most end up with a story about “almost” winning.
To play, choose five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 24, or let Quick Pick handle the randomness. Match all six, and the jackpot is yours – or shared if others join the club.
Available in 45 states, plus D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mega Millions draws crowds dreaming of lump sums or annuities. Winners can opt for a one-time cash payout – here, $56.9 million before taxes – or annual payments growing 5% each year.
The annuity sounds generous until you realize inflation might nibble at those increases. Still, for the Kentucky player who hit five numbers, $2 million arrives without such dilemmas. That prize doubled courtesy of the 2x multiplier, a feature that quietly turns good luck into great.
Meanwhile, the Arkansas Powerball winner basks in anonymity, pondering whether to buy the gas station that sold the ticket. Lottery officials urge checking tickets carefully, as smaller prizes await many.
Past winners’ tales fill the Mega Millions website, a gallery of sudden wealth. Yet for most, the real prize is the brief escape – five dollars for a few days of “what if.” The next drawing looms Tuesday, with the jackpot poised to climb.
Players nationwide will line up again, wallets lighter but hopes heavier.
After all, someone’s bound to win eventually – just not on this quiet post-Christmas Friday.
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