A Mega Millions player may win a big jackpot on Christmas Eve. The lottery prize for the December drawing is at an estimated $944 million.

With no one winning the jackpot Friday, the grand prize for Tuesday’s drawing ballooned from $862 million to $944 million, according to the lottery. A jackpot winner in Tuesday’s drawing could choose to receive the money in annuitized payments or take a lump sum estimated at $429.4 million.

It’s been a busy month for lottery players. The Mega Millions jackpot now stands at a $1.22 billion ahead of a Dec. 27 drawing, after a Christmas Eve drawing failed to yield a winner. That makes it the largest such prize for either of the two big multistate lottery games — Mega Millions and Powerball — in the holiday-filled month of December,