$760M Mega Millions jackpot up for grabs

(NEXSTAR) — Someone could find themselves with a cash windfall Tuesday night thanks to a massive Mega Millions jackpot, now estimated at $760 million.

The current jackpot has been brewing since September when a ticket sold in Texas landed an $800 million jackpot, the seventh-largest payout in the game’s history. In just a week, the jackpot has ballooned by more than $140 million.

At $760 million — with an estimated cash value of $352.1 million — this is the largest Mega Millions jackpot available in the month of December, according to game officials. The last time a massive jackpot was up for grabs in the days before Christmas was in 2013 when tickets in California and Georgia split a $648 million prize.

That prize ranks as the tenth-largest in Mega Millions history. Today's jackpot is the eighth-largest.

$1.602 billion: Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
$1.537 billion: Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
$1.348 billion: Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
$1.337 billion: July 29, 2022; Illinois
$1.128 billion: March 26, 2024; New Jersey
$1.050 billion: Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan
$800 million: Sept. 10, 2024; Texas
Est. $760 million (Current jackpot)
$656 million: Mar. 30, 2012; Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland
$648 million: Dec. 17, 2013; California and Georgia

To join the list of the largest jackpots in Mega Millions and Powerball history, the current pot would need to grow by more than $320 million.

$2.04 billion (Powerball): Nov. 7, 2022; California
$1.76 billion (Powerball): Oct. 11, 2023; California
$1.602 billion (Mega Millions): Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
$1.586 billion (Powerball): Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida, Tennessee
$1.537 billion (Mega Millions): Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
$1.348 billion (Mega Millions): Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
$1.337 billion (Mega Millions): July 29, 2022; Illinois
$1.326 billion (Powerball): April 6, 2024; Oregon
$1.128 billion (Mega Millions): March 26, 2024; New Jersey
$1.08 billion (Powerball): July 19, 2023; California

Regardless of where the $760 million Mega Millions jackpot ranks, a winner (or winners) will receive far less after taxes, depending on where they live.

Where you live will also impact how late you can purchase tickets, and whether you can buy them online.

Your odds of winning could be influenced by your place of residency: New York and California have sold the most Mega Millions jackpot-winning tickets at 42 and 36, respectively, based on game data. Twenty states have yet to sell one.

What will not be influenced by your state is how much tickets cost — $2, plus an additional $1 if you opt for the Megaplier (available in most participating jurisdictions) — and when the drawing will be held, which is 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Your odds of winning the jackpot are slim at 1 in 302,575,350. Your odds of winning any prize while playing Mega Millions is much better at 1 in 24. Should no ticket match the winning numbers for Tuesday's drawing, the next will be held at 11 p.m. ET on Friday. The jackpot will also grow but it's unclear by how much.

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