Saving for retirement, want to buy that Masarati you've had your eye on or just feel like going on a shopping spree?
If you're feeling lucky, you only have a few hours left to buy a ticket for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing -- the jackpot is now $355 million and growing. Just hours ago it was at $330 million. The all time record is $390 million.
If a Californian wins the prize, it could be the biggest amount ever awarded in the golden state. The estimated cash option for tonight’s draw is a whopping $224.2 million.
Tuesday's Mega Millions is making history as one of the largest jackpots in US history. Ticket sales skyrocketed on New Year's Eve when the jackpot was a mere $290 million. No one won the big prize that night, so now it's up another $65 million.
For the novice, here's how to play: Tickets cost $1. Players pick numbers from two separate pools of numbers: five numbers from 1 through 56, then a single number from 1 to 46. The winning ticket has to match all six numbers. The odds of winning the jackpot Tuesday night are 1 in 175 million, according to lottery officials.
The winner will have two payout options. The annuity option is given out in 26 annual payments. For every $1 million in winnings, the jackpot pays $38,500 a year before taxes. Or, the winner can opt for a one-time lump-sum payment.
The last big lottery winner in California was a woman who worked on the assignment desk at KNBC in Los Angeles.
The drawing is at 8 p.m.
