Jan. 3 (UPI) — The first Mega Millions drawing of the new year will take place on Tuesday night and have a potential jackpot of $785 million.
This is the fourth time the Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $700 million and on all three previous occasions the jackpot eventually surpassed $1 billion.
While a jackpot winner has yet to emerge, there have been multiple recent winners on lower levels. A ticket sold in Ohio won the $1 million second-tier prize on Dec. 30. Since the current drawing started in October, there have been 41 prizes worth $1 million or more.
The Mega Millions jackpot is currently worth $785 million and has a cash value of $395 million. Lottery winners can chose to have their prizes paid out over the course of 30 years or in a lump sum, which is know as the “cash value” of the prize.
In November California’s lottery confirmed that a winning ticket for the $2.04 billion jackpot had been sold in the state.
