Copyright Cable News Network
The Mega Millions jackpot for Tuesday night’s drawing has climbed to $900 million, the eighth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. Winners can choose between a $415.3 million lump-sum payout or an annuity paid over 30 years, with one immediate payment followed by 29 annual installments that increase by 5% each year, according to Mega Millions. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 23, while the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 290.5 million. If there is no winner tonight, the next drawing will be held Friday at 11 p.m. ET, with the jackpot expected to surpass $1 billion. Changes to Mega Millions in April more than doubled the ticket price but slightly improved the odds of winning. Each ticket costs $5 per play and includes multipliers of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 10x. Half of the proceeds from each ticket remain in the state where it was sold. In Georgia, lottery funds have contributed more than $29.8 billion to education since the program began, supporting millions of students from pre-K through college, according to the Georgia Lottery. Mega Millions, sold in 45 states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands, is the nation’s most widely played multistate jackpot game and the only lottery with seven jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The most recent billion-dollar win occurred in December, when a winner claimed $1.269 billion before taxes. The current record for the highest Mega Millions jackpot is $1.6 billion, awarded to an anonymous winner in Florida in 2023. Prizes must be claimed through the state lottery office and are subject to federal and state taxes. Some states allow winners to remain anonymous.
