New Jackpot—$636M—and Other Fun Numbers for Tonight's Mega Drawing

Thanks to renewed interest in the possibility of a huge jackpot right before Christmas, the jackpot for tonight's Mega Millions drawing has increased yet once again.

One winner in the multi-state game will now win $636 million, up a total of $86 million since yesterday, according to Maryland Lottery officials.

The cash option value stands at $341.2 million, according to Lottery spokeswoman Erica Palmisano.

A jackpot-winning Marylander would take home $226 million after taxes, according to a statement from Palmisano.

If a Marylander were to win the jackpot and choose the annuity option, he or she would take home $16.2 million (after taxes) a year for 29 years, or $469.8 million over the life of the annuity.

The jackpot, now the second-largest in American lottery history, is just $20 million behind the leading purse. That record belongs to the $656 million Mega Millions prize that was shared among the holders of three winning tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland on March 30, 2012.

Palmisano also provided some fun trivia about today's drawing.

As of noon, 101 Mega Millions tickets were being sold per second in Maryland.
Maryland Lottery officials expect state lottery retailers to go through about 2,016 rolls of lottery machine paper today. With each roll representing about 4,000 tickets, that's about 8 million tickets expected to be sold today.

If there's no winner tonight, Palmisano expects Friday's jackpot to start out at $950 million, with a cash option value of $509.6 million.