A cashier prints out a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chino Hills, California, July 28, 2022. - The odds of claiming this week's bonanza US lottery prize are less than one-in-300-million -- but one "lucky" convenience store outside Los Angeles is already counting its winnings. A sign above the counter of the otherwise unassuming shop in California's Chino Hills proclaims itself the "LUCKIEST 7-ELEVEN IN THE WORLD," six years after it sold a winning ticket for the largest jackpot in US lottery history. (Photo by RINGO CHIU / AFP) (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)
$1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot on the line Friday night
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A $1.1 billion lottery prize will be on the line Friday night as numbers are drawn for the Mega Millions game.
The giant jackpot is the nation's third-largest prize and is the result of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game's six numbers. That last time someone hit the Mega Millions jackpot was April 15.
Before rushing out to spend $2 on a ticket, keep in mind that the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are a staggering 1 in 302.5 million.
The $1.1 billion prize is for players who get their winnings through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Friday's drawing is an estimated $648.2 million.
The jackpot is the latest focus of lotteries that have been conducted in the U.S. and around the world for centuries.
If no one wins the Mega Millions jackpot Friday night, the prize will grow even larger ahead of the next drawing Tuesday night.
By — Associated Press
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