The Mega Millions lottery jackpot was an estimated $20 million with a cash option of $9 million for Wednesday night's drawing, according to the Mega Millions website. The jackpot was last won on on Dec. 27 when a lottery player in California won $1.269 billion - the fifth largest Mega Millions ever.

“We know that many people will likely receive tickets to Friday’s drawing as holiday gifts, and what a gift that would turn out to be if you ended up with a ticket worth a $1.15 billion jackpot,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a news release before the jackpot rose again to $1.22 billion.