Mega Millions lottery jackpot reaches $333 million
People are starting to take notice: The Mega Millions lottery jackpot has reached $333 million for Tuesday night's drawing.
The prize, which amounts to $226 million if taken all at once, is the seventh largest potential bounty in the multistate game's 20-year history. The jackpot started at $15 million on March 8 and keeps growing until someone wins.
Tuesday's jackpot ties for 20th largest ever across the USA. The largest was almost $1.6 billion, $983.5 million cash value, split among three Powerball tickets on Jan. 13. Friday night's winning combination — 20, 23, 30, 44 and 59 with a Mega Ball of 9 — did not come up among the tickets sold, according to Arizona Lottery officials.
Mega Millions, one of two multi-state lotteries, sells tickets in 44 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wednesday's jackpot for Powerball, which has a 1 in more than 292 million chance of winning, is $184 million with a $125.3 million cash payout.
One in 15 people who play Mega Millions win a cash prize, from $1 — the cost of a ticket — all the way up to the grand prize. The odds of winning the big jackpot are 1 in almost 259 million.
Jackpot winners have 180 days to choose one of two options:
- Take the $333 million in 30-year annuity or
- Take a slightly smaller one-time cash payment of $226 million.
Drawings are 11 p.m. ET Tuesdays and Fridays, and generally states have cutoffs for ticket sales about an hour before the drawings.
Follow Alexis Egeland on Twitter: @alexis_egeland