Mega Millions $785 million jackpot is sixth-biggest ever

Major money is on the line in the Mega Millions sweepstakes.

The $785 million jackpot in Tuesday’s lottery is the sixth-biggest ever in the U.S. after the previous 22 drawings didn’t yield a winner.

To take home the grand prize, a ticket-holder must match the numbers on each of the five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of winning the jackpot are less than 1 in 302 million, organizers say.

The biggest lottery prize in U.S. history came in November, when a yet-to-be-named ticket-holder from California won a $2.04 billion jackpot in the Powerball sweepstakes.

Tuesday’s jackpot would the fourth-biggest in the history of the Mega Millions, which debuted in January 2002. That contest’s biggest prize of $1.5 billion went to a South Carolina ticket-holder in 2018. Mega Millions has produced two other jackpots exceeding $1 billion since.

A winner Tuesday would have the option to either collect the $785 million in installments over 29 years or take home an instant cash prize of $403.8 million.

Tuesday’s drawing is scheduled to take place at 11 p.m. EDT.

With News Wire Services