Feeling lucky? Tonight is the Mega Millions drawing and it’s a big one. The jackpot has climbed to $740-million, the eighth-largest in the game’s history. It’s also the biggest one ever in the month of December.
You have to match all six winning numbers in the drawing to win the jackpot, but don’t start thinking about how you’ll spend your new fortune just yet. While dreaming big is fine, don’t expect to take home the jackpot, as the odds of winning it all are one in 302,575,350 (302-million 575-thousand 350).
However, you’re much more likely to win a smaller prize, anywhere from $2 to $1-million. The lottery reports the odds of winning any prize are one in 24.
The odds of winning each Mega Millions prize amount are:
- Jackpot (Match 5 numbers + Mega Ball): 1 in 302,575,350
- $1-million (Match 5 numbers): 1 in 12,607,306
- $10-thousand (Match 4 numbers + Mega Ball): 1 in 931,001
- $500 (Match 4 numbers): 1 in 38,792
- $200 (Match 3 numbers + Mega Ball): 1 in 14,547
- $10 (Match 3 numbers): 1 in 606
- $10 (Match 2 numbers + Mega Ball): 1 in 693
- $4 (Match 1 number + Mega Ball): 1 in 89
- $2 (Match Mega Ball only): 1 in 37
The drawing is tonight at 11 p.m. ET, but if no one wins, the jackpot will roll to the next drawing on Friday, December 20th. Good luck!
Source: CNBC