After nobody won the $910 million jackpot on Friday night, the Mega Millions lottery jackpot climbed to $1.05 billion for Tuesday’s drawing, the lottery explained in a release.
Conversely, the lump sum option for the grand prize also jumped, from $464.2 million on Friday to $527.9 million for Tuesday.
If a player hits it huge on Tuesday, the jackpot will equal the current fourth-largest Mega Millions grand prize ever, a Michigan-purchased ticket whose owner won it all on Jan. 22, 2021.
Tuesday’s lottery drawing will be the 30th one done since the last time the jackpot was won — a New York-purchased ticket with a $20 million grand prize drawn on April 18. In the drawing immediately before that on April 14, however, another New York ticket hit for $483 million.
If a player wins Tuesday but does not choose the lump sum cash option, they would instead receive an immediate payment followed by 29 succeeding annual payouts, each one 5% larger than the previous payment.
Customers can find $2 Mega Millions tickets in D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 45 U.S. states — they are unavailable in Nevada, Utah, Alabama, Alaska, and Hawaii.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.