Mega Jackpot is Now at $636 Million

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Mega Millions Group has announced that Today's (12/17/13) Mega Millions jackpot has been increased to an estimated $636 Million (CASH is $341.2 Million) based on strong sales figures across the country. This is the second largest Mega Millions jackpot in history.

If one ticket matches all six numbers for the $636 million mega-jackpot, the winner will have the choice of receiving the full jackpot in 30 annual payments, or a cash option of approximately $341.2 million before taxes.

This jackpot has been growing since Oct. 1, when Mega Millions had its most recent jackpot winner. The jackpot has now rolled 21 times without a winner.

This is the largest jackpot since changes were made to Mega Millions that include larger starting jackpots, a million-dollar second prize, and a new matrix of 1-75 for the first five numbers and 1-15 for the Mega Ball number. One thing that did not change is the price of a Mega Millions ticket: still $1.

The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately one in 259 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are approximately 1 in 15. Mega Millions holds the record for the largest jackpot ever, at $656 million. That jackpot on March 30, 2012, was split by three winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

Mega Millions is played in 45 jurisdictions (43 states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands). Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.