BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

It’s beginning to look a lot like some lottery player, perhaps from New Jersey, might be having a very merry, and wealthy, Christmas.

No one won the grand prize in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery on Tuesday, Dec. 13, meaning the jackpot for the Friday, December 16 drawing will be an estimated $135 million. The cash option payout is $98.9 million.

The winning numbers in the Dec. 13 drawing were as follows:

05-06-22-26-41

 Mega Ball: 06

MLive.com reported that eight players matched all 5 numbers without getting the Mega Ball to earn $250,000, none of them coming from New Jersey.

According to HULIQ, Mega Millions other results for Tuesday’s drawing were as follows:

Players matching 4 balls plus the Mega ball to win $10,000: 61.

Four without the Mega ball to win $150: 2,370.

Three plus the Mega ball to win $150: 2,911.

Two plus the Mega ball to win $10: 46,150.

Three without the Mega ball won $10: 124,196.

One plus the Mega ball won $3: 269,026.

Players matching just the Mega ball won $2: 476,505.

Mega Millions uses two machines, or a double matrix, to pick its winners. White balls with numbers from 1 to 56 are chosen from one machine, and one gold ball from numbers 1 to 46, representing the Mega ball, are chosen from another.

Since it is drawn separately, the Mega ball can duplicate a white ball number.

While a $135 million windfall would be welcomed by anyone, the prize pool in a Spain lottery has set a new world record. Lottery Post reports that the Christmastime lottery drawing of El Gordo (The Fat One) will pay out $2.5 billion, or $3.25 billion in the U.S., to over 1,202,490 winners.

The fat top prize for The Fat One is $5.2 million in U.S. funds.