
Mega Millions, Louisiana Lottery Reveal Christmas Eve Winner
It was a tough night for sleeping across the Cajun Prairie near Eunice, Louisiana last night. The same thing was happening along I-20 in Shreveport, Ruston, and Monroe. Along the bayous in Cajun Country near Lafayette, Abbeville, Delcambre, and New Iberia there was a load of anticipation too. Was it all Santa or was something else going on?
Just look at the expression on Santa's face when he saw how much the Mega Millions Jackpot was on Christmas Eve.
Sure the arrival of Santa Claus or Papa Noel as he is known in parts of the state was probably the most prolific reason that folks were too excited to sleep last night. But then again there was a matter of $1 billion dollars in holiday cheer that was looking for a home in Tuesday's Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing.
When 10 pm finally rolled around last night the principles at Mega Millions were estimating the top prize in the annuitized jackpot would be an even $1 billion. The lump sum payout or cash payout was forecast to be $448.8 million. And yes, Mega Millions has a history of paying out jackpots on Christmas Eve.
Here is how the Christmas Eve drawing played out.
Our sources at Mega Millions confirmed before they went home for Christmas Day that no tickets sold across the game's footprints matched the numbers needed to claim the $1 billion prize. That means that when Mega Millions draws on Friday night, the top prize in the game will be an estimated $1.15 billion.
The Louisiana Lottery did report moderate activity as far as winning tickets go on Tuesday night. There was a $10,000 winner that was sold in Angie, Louisiana. My guess is that everyone in Angie knows who bought the ticket since the town's population is listed at less than 250 people. The big-money winner was purchased at a Chevron station in town.
Here were the numbers from Christmas Eve for Mega Millions:
11 14 38 45 46 Mega Ball 3 Megaplier x3
If you think you have a winner please verify that ticket at the Official Louisiana Lottery website or the Official Mega Millions website. Those are the sites of record when it comes to confirming lottery wins with this game.
All in all it appears as if Louisiana tickets earned about 30,000 prizes in last night's drawing. The $10,000 winner was the largest from the state-sold tickets. There were nine tickets that won $1,500 and 17 tickets that earned prizes of $600 and $500 each. And there were another 23 Louisiana-sold tickets that earned a prize of $200.
Your next chance at instant riches comes tonight in the Powerball game. The jackpot in Powerball is estimated to be $117 million for the annuity and $53.4 for the lump sum. There will be no Louisiana-based draw games tonight. That means there will be no drawing for Lotto or Easy 5. If you purchased a ticket for those games thinking they would draw tonight hold on to them. Those tickets should be valid for Saturday night's drawings.
Please note that no matter how much holiday magic you have at your house you're probably not going to win the big money in the lottery. Playing lottery games involves a risk of losing money. If you have a gambling problem, please seek assistance. You may call 1-877-770-STOP (7867) for free referrals to qualified and compassionate counselling. Good Luck.
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Gallery Credit: tsm/Timmy!
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