Mega Millions jackpot swells to $1.2B. Here are the perks of winning in Florida

If you didn’t get exactly what you wanted for the holidays–you’re in luck. 

No one won the last Mega Millions jackpot, so the pot for Friday night’s drawing has grown to $1.22 billion.

If someone wins the jackpot Friday, it will be the fifth-largest prize in the game's history. Who wouldn’t want to get in line for a chance to win?

The drawing is at 11 p.m. ET.

What are the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery?

Reality check time. According to Lottery officials, the odds of actually winning that big jackpot are one in 302 million.

How much does a Mega Millions ticket cost?

Mega Millions tickets currently cost $2 to play in 2024.

Starting in April, Mega Millions tickets will jump from $2 to $5, but the lottery said that price increase will lead to bigger prizes.

When was the last Mega Millions jackpot won?

The last time a player won the Mega Millions jackpot was on Sept. 10, when the jackpot was $800 million.

The winning ticket was sold in Texas. It was won by the Sol Living Trust of Sugar Land, Texas.

Prior to that, a $552 million jackpot was won June 4 in Illinois and a $1.128 billion prize was won in New Jersey in Neptune Township on March 26. The winner for that one just came forward this week.

The perks of winning the Mega Millions lottery in Florida

And don’t forget: Florida is one of eight states that don’t tax lottery winnings. So, if you get all of the winning numbers in the Sunshine State, you can take home a cash lump sum of $325,184,812, or over $7.7 million over 30 years.

Top Mega Millions jackpots in history

The top Mega Millions jackpots in history are:

• $1.602 billion - 8/8/2023 - 1 winning ticket in Florida
• $1.537 billion - 10/23/2018 - 1 winning ticket in South Carolina
• $1.348 billion - 1/13/2023 - 1 winning ticket in Maine
• $1.337 billion - 7/29/2022 - 1 winning ticket in Illinois
• $1.128 billion - 3/26/2024 - 1 winning ticket in New Jersey
• $1.15 billion - 12/27/2024 - set for Friday's drawing, number is an estimate
• $1.050 billion - 1/22/2021 - 1 winning ticket in Michigan
• $810 million - 9/10/2024 - 1 winning ticket in Texas
• $656 million - 3/30/2012 - 3 winning tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland
• $648 million - 12/17/2013 - 2 winning tickets in California and Georgia

If you or someone you know has a gambling addiction, please call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700 to speak to a counselor. Help is also available via an online peer support forum at www.gamtalk.org, and additional resources can be found at NCPG website.