The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $862 million, the highest ever offered in December, and no California Lottery player has ever won a jackpot of its size, officials said.
The Friday drawing, taking place at 8 p.m., will determine who, if anyone, wins the seventh-largest prize in the game’s history.
If it goes another week without a winner, the jackpot will roll over to another record-setting figure of $944 million on Christmas Eve.
The Mega Millions jackpot was last won in September by a player in Texas. Since then, there have been 29 drawings without a winner.
As it’s continued to rise, the Mega Millions has raised an estimated $58.5 million for California public schools, which officials say is the sole mission of the California Lottery.
“We get particularly excited for jackpots to approach a billion dollars,” said California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker. “Because when they do, more people are enticed to play, our sales are stronger, and we raise even more supplemental funding for public education.”
For every $2 ticket sold in California, roughly 80 cents goes directly to public education; how lottery revenue is allocated differs from state to state.
Winning numbers will be posted on the California Lottery website after the drawing, with results certified at the national level within two hours.
