Mega Millions jackpot soars to $465M for Tuesday night drawing

CHICAGO - Do you want to become a holiday multi-millionaire? Well, now's your chance.

The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has reached $465 million for Tuesday night's drawing, so make sure you buy a ticket.

The $465 million jackpot would be the 12th largest in the game's history — if a winning ticket is drawn.

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 CHICAGO ON YOUTUBE

In July, an Illinois Lottery player won a $1.34 Mega Millions jackpot. It was the largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois, and the third largest ever in the U.S.

The Mega Millions game is played every Tuesday and Friday night.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2 per play. Players win the jackpot by matching all six numbers in a drawing. If no one wins the jackpot, the money is added to the jackpot for the next drawing.

RELATED: If you win the Mega Millions lottery, here are the first two things you should do

For those lucky enough to become a Mega Millions jackpot winner, they get the choice of a cash option or an annual payout. The annuity option means getting an initial payment followed by 29 annual payments, and each payment is 5% larger than the previous one. For those that select the cash option, they receive a one-time, lump-sum payment that is equal to all the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool after taxes.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot prize is roughly 1 in 302,575,350, lottery officials said. But a player’s overall chance of winning any prize is 1 in 24.

The Illinois Lottery encourages all winners to write their name on the back of their ticket and keep it in a safe place until they're ready to claim their prize.

For more information on lottery games, or to buy tickets, visit IllinoisLottery.com.