Mega Millions player just misses $1 billion jackpot — but still wins big in Colorado

A Mega Millions ticket sold in Colorado won $1 million, narrowly missing out on the estimated $1.1 billion jackpot, lottery officials say.

The ticket matched five winning numbers in the drawing Tuesday, March 26, but not the Mega Ball, the Colorado Lottery said.

A New Jersey player won the grand prize, which will drop to an estimated $20 million, with a cash option of approximately $9.5 million, for the next drawing Friday, March 29, the national Mega Millions site said.

The winning numbers were 7, 11, 22, 29 and 38, with a Mega Ball of 4.

Nearly 50,000 other tickets sold in Colorado also won prizes ranging from $2 to $20,000 in the drawing, the lottery said.

Mega Millions tickets sold in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Ohio also matched five white numbers to win.

What to know about Mega Millions

To score a jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball.

The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 302,575,350.

Tickets cost $2 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state.

Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.