Lottery players get another chance at a growing Mega Millions jackpot tonight. With no winners since Dec. 8, 2023, the national game’s grand prize has swelled to an estimated $687 million. That’s the sixth-largest Mega Millions jackpot in the game’s history.
You can buy Mega Millions tickets for $2 apiece in 45 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To play, pick five numbers between 1 and 70, and a sixth number between 1 and 25. If you don’t want to pick the numbers yourself, you can get a set of numbers generated for you.
How much is the Mega Millions jackpot?
The jackpot is estimated at $687 million.
Winners can opt to take their winnings in the form of an annuity or as a single lump sum, known as the cash option. The cash option for today’s jackpot is estimated at $332.3 million.
By taking the annuity option, the winner would get the full jackpot advertised by Mega Millions, but it would be spread out in payments over 30 years.
No matter how lucky you are, you won’t get around paying taxes on a lottery jackpot. After mandatory federal income tax withholding, you’d get roughly $252.5 million if you took the cash option. How much more you’d pay come tax time depends on where you bought the ticket — and where you live. To prepare, make sure you know the ins and outs of how the lottery works.
When is the next Mega Millions drawing?
- The winning numbers will be drawn Friday, March 8, at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
- If there’s still no jackpot winner, the grand prize will continue to grow.
- The odds of winning the jackpot are roughly 1 in 303 million.
The jackpot isn’t the only way to win. Mega Millions has prizes for ticket holders whose chosen numbers match the drawing in a variety of combinations. In the drawing on March 5, two tickets — one sold in California and the other in Michigan — matched five white balls, winning prizes of $1 million each.
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