Winner winner chicken dinner! You just won the lottery, but do you know what to do next? Here’s what to know before you cash out.
The winning numbers for the $650 million Mega Millions jackpot were drawn Tuesday night. This is only the seventh time in the history of the game that the grand prize has reached such an amount.
The numbers drawn were: 2, 49, 50, 61, 70, and the gold ball 14. The Megaplier was 2x.
The $650 million prize up for grabs on Tuesday night would be for a sole winner choosing to be paid through an annuity, with annual payments over 30 years. Jackpot winners almost always opt for a lump sum payment, which for tonight's drawing would be an estimated $308.6 million.
The potential jackpot is the seventh-largest in the game and the 18th-largest prize in U.S. lottery history.
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The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, worth $1.602 billion, was sold on Aug. 8, 2023, in Florida.
Lottery jackpots grow so large because the odds of winning are so small. For Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million.
Winners also would be subject to federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery winnings.
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Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
