The Mega Millions lottery jackpot jumped up from $385 million to $414 million ahead of Friday’s drawing, surpassing the $400 million mark for the first time in months.
The cash option for the jackpot pays $221 million. To receive the full $414 million, a winner would have to pick the alternative of 29 annual payments.
Four jackpots have been hit this year, all in January. The biggie was on Jan. 13, when someone in Maine won $1.35 billion.
This was followed by a $20 million ticket in New York on Jan. 17 and two Massachusetts tickets, one for $33 million on Jan. 24 and $31 million on Jan. 31.
Since Jan. 31, the Mega Millions pot has been growing, with the next opportunity to win it all coming Friday evening. The odds of winning the jackpot for any individual customer are 302,575,350 to 1.
The lottery’s consortium consists of 45 states, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Mega Millions lottery is not sold in Nevada, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii or Alabama.
