Quantcast

Mega Millions At $363 Million

mega millions1Most of us have our potential winning Mega Millions ticket tucked away in a secret hiding spot as we await the drawing Tuesday night.

For those who haven’t played Mega Millions yet, now is the time as Mega Millions is at a jaw-dropping $363 million.

It is the third largest Mega Millions annuity and the fourth largest United States jackpot.

The winner will reportedly be able to choose annual payments over 26 years or a cash option of $259.8 million, the record largest cash jackpot in Mega Millions history due to the low interest rates.

And by now, we mean lunch break, coffee break, basically any minute to spare in the next few hours. Tickets will be sold until 7:45 p.m. before the winning number is drawn at 8 p.m. You’ve got to be in it to win it folks.

The massive sum of money was a surprise to officials who estimated, after no one won the jackpot last Friday, that the jackpot would grow to $356 million. Friday, the jackpot was at an amazing $290 million after no one won during last Monday’s drawing but again Friday, no one had the winning ticket.

After Friday’s win-less drawing, ticket sales skyrocketed over the weekend and officials upped the jackpot number to $363 million Monday.

Unfortunately for ticket holders, the odds of winning Mega Millions is about 1 in 176 million, but the unfavorable chances of winning do make winning that much sweeter.

Massive Mega Millions jackpots are nothing new, in fact Mega Millions actually holds the record for the largest jackpot in North American history. In March 2007, one lucky winner won $390 million and broke the record for largest jackpot in North America.

The game first began back in 1996 and over the years, became the country’s most widely played multi-state jackpot game. Mega Millions is now played in 44 jurisdictions: 42 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands