$3 Million Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold In CT: Here's Where

Merry Christmas indeed, for at least one Connecticut resident, who is now $3 million richer after winning a major consolation prize in last night's $321 million Mega Millions drawing. No one won the overall jackpot which means the Friday, Dec. 28, 2018 drawing will be for $348 million.

One ticket sold in Connecticut last night had five matching numbers and the Megaplier. A total of 14,163 "winning" tickets were sold in Connecticut for the Christmas drawing. One ticket sold in Connecticut yielded a $10,000 winner, three people won $1,500, five people won $600, four people won $500, and nine people won $200. The rest of us won between $2 and $30.

The winning numbers for the Dec. 25, 2018 Mega Millions drawing are: 2-8-42-43-50 MB-6 MP-3.

The $3 million ticket was sold at Avenue News, 821 Farmington Ave, in Bristol, according to the CT Lottery.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been picking up steam. A winner hasn't been picked since Oct. 23, when the richest prize in U.S. lottery history was won - although that person has yet to claim their cash. The winning ticket was sold in South Carolina, meaning someone had a cash payout of more than $900 million won the $1.6 billion jackpot, netting a cash payout of more than $900 million awaiting.

Since that record victory, the Mega Millions has been played 17 times, now nearing $350 million. The Mega Millions game resets to $40 million when a jackpot is one. Then it grows by at least $5 million with every drawing that doesn't have a winner.

The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball (the Mega Ball) are one in 302.6 million. No matter how many people play Mega Millions, the chances of winning never change. The chances of winning are based on the number combinations not the number of players buying tickets.

The Megaplier add-on, which costs an extra dollar, increases non-jackpot prizes by two to five times.

Players pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers – five different numbers from 1 to 70 and one number from 1 to 25 (the Mega Ball number.) Players can also use an easy pick feature, where a computer selects random numbers for them. To win the jackpot, a player much match all six numbers.

Players who match some of the numbers could still win some money. Here is the payout schedule for lesser prizes, not including the Megaplier, which is different for each game:

• 5 + 0 = $1 million (five numbers by not the Mega Ball)
• 4 + 1 = $10,000 (four numbers and the Mega Ball)
• 4+ 0 = $500 (four numbers without the Mega Ball)
• 3 + 1 = $200 (three numbers and the Mega Ball)
• 3 + 0 = $10 (three numbers but not the Mega Ball)
• 2 + 1 = $10 (two numbers and the Mega Ball)
• 1 + 1 = $4 (one number and the Mega Ball)
• 0 + 1 = $2 (just the Mega Ball)

Mega Millions tickets are $2 each and can be played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Lottery hopefuls had until 10:45 p.m. EST to buy tickets. The drawing is held at 11 p.m. EST in Atlanta.

Written by Brian McCready and Mike Carraggi

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