The Mega Millions jackpot has surged to an estimated $965 million, making it the eighth largest in the game's history. This increase follows Tuesday night’s drawing, where no ticket matched all six winning numbers. The jackpot was last won on June 27, and the next drawing is scheduled for Friday night.

The cash option for the jackpot is approximately $445.3 million. Winners can choose between a one-time lump sum payment or an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. This upcoming drawing will mark the 40th since the last jackpot win, setting a record for the game.

Despite no one winning the jackpot on Tuesday, there were 809,030 winning tickets across various prize tiers, resulting in total winnings exceeding $27.9 million nationwide. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336.

Mega Millions is available in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $5 each. The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever recorded was $1.6 billion, won on August 8, 2023.

In addition to the Mega Millions, the Powerball jackpot has also grown, currently standing at $546 million. If no one wins either jackpot this weekend, the combined total for both games will exceed $1.5 billion. The Powerball drawing is set for Saturday.

Lottery players in Connecticut are particularly hopeful, as no one from the state has ever won the Mega Millions jackpot. Giovanni Maisonet, a local player, expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I play the lottery every week. Everybody has a shot to win it, but whoever does is going to be a lucky person." He added that if he won, he would help others and take time off to travel.

As excitement builds for the upcoming drawings, players across the country are eagerly anticipating the chance to win life-changing sums of money.