Mega Millions jackpot hits $305 million — right during holiday shopping season

Just in time for the holidays, the Mega Millions lottery jackpot has reached $305 million. That leaves players with a very slim chance of paying off their Christmas layaway bill with change, and the lottery with a much better chance of earning some sizeable holiday revenue. 

With no winner matching all six numbers including the Mega Ball on Tuesday night, the jackpot rolls over to the next drawing on Friday, Dec. 21, according to a news release from Mega Millions. 

The odds of winning Mega Millions: 1 in 302,575,350. 

A Louisiana ticket sold Tuesday did win $1 million, matching the five white balls. Twenty-two players won $10,000 — just about enough to cover the average kid's entire Christmas wish list. 

Mega Millions created a big buzz earlier this fall with its huge $1.5 billion jackpot, which went to a winner in South Carolina. According to the lottery, that winner hasn't yet come forward. 

Last year around this time, the third-largest jackpot in the game's history, $648 million, was paid out, the lottery noted. 

In 2018, there have been four other jackpot payouts besides the huge one in October: $451 million in January, $533 million in March, $142 million in May and $543 million in July. 

The winning numbers on Tuesday were 12-22-32-60-69, Mega Ball 9, Megaplier 3X. 

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