EVERETT — A Mega Millions jackpot estimated at $1.55 billion is inspiring many people to part with $2 for a chance at more money than they’ll know what to do with.
So what if the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million?
The lump sum is $757.2 million, before taxes. Or get every penny, minus taxes, by taking the annuity option of 30 annual payments.
The jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing might be a Mega Millions record.
The drawing “will flirt with the game’s record jackpot of $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018. However, we won’t know for sure until we get closer to Tuesday’s drawing; at this level, jackpots are hard to predict with complete accuracy,” according to a Mega Millions news release.
Ticket sales tend to pick up in the hours before big drawings. The Mega Millions drawing is at 8 p.m. (Pacific Time) Tuesday.
February’s $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot is the largest in U.S. lottery history. Second largest is a $1.586 billion Powerball grand prize in January 2016.
If nobody hits Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot, odds are it will soar to the second-largest windfall in lottery history in Friday’s drawing. You still won’t be in the top 10 richest people in Washington state.
Ticket sales benefit state residents. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.
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