A staggering $650 million is up for grabs in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing, making it one of the ten largest jackpots in the game’s history.

But — if there’s finally a winner — they’ll walk away with as little as a quarter of that headline figure lighting up billboards and gas stations nationwide.

Winners must choose between 30 annual payments or a one-time cash option. Almost all take the lump sum, which for Tuesday night’s $650 million Mega Millions jackpot would be $304.1 million, according to USA Mega.

The jackpot advertised isn’t the cash the lottery has on hand to pay the winner. It represents what the prize would be if the pool were invested in Treasury bonds over 30 years — which is why higher interest rates seen over the past two years inflate the headline amount.

For winners taking the lump sum, this means they are being penalized more than at any point in the last two decades.

Uncle Sam and state officials want a share too. After the federal government’s 37 percent cut, the take-home would fall to around $191.6 million.

In states with income tax, such as New York’s 10.9 percent, the total could drop closer to $158 million — barely a quarter of the advertised prize.

The Mega Millions prize has rolled over 33 times since a ticket sold in Virginia on June 27 won $348 million.

Fidel Lule buys a Mega Millions lottery ticket at Won Won Mini Mart in Chinatown Los Angeles in December last year,  when it grew to more than $1billion

No one matched all six numbers on Friday’s draw — 9, 21, 27, 48, 56, and the Mega Ball 10 — sending the jackpot soaring once again.

The biggest lottery win of the year so far came from Powerball, which reached $1.7 billion in early September, claimed by a single ticket in California.

Mega Millions officials say that a rule change introduced in April has led to ‘hundreds of millions of dollars more paid out in non-jackpot prizes.’

During Friday’s drawing alone, more than 416,000 tickets shared $8.5 million in smaller prizes.

‘You have to pay Uncle Sam, the federal government, but also state tax,’ said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has advised lottery winners.

He noted that anyone taking the 30-year annuity could dodge state income tax on future payments by moving to a no-tax state such as Texas, Florida, Nevada, or Alaska.

While some financial advisers urge winners to take the lump sum and invest it, Stoltmann says that’s often the wrong move.

‘The money manager will tell them they should take the lump-sum distribution because the financial advisers want to get their greedy little hands on the full pot of money right off the bat,’ he said.

A fascinating study from gambling site CSGO analyzed the most commonly drawn numbers in over 950 drawings between 2015 and 2023

Tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 states, along with Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands. Drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday at 11pm ET in Atlanta, Georgia.

The odds of winning the jackpot are a jaw-dropping 1 in 290 million, while the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 23.

Half of all ticket sales remain in the state where they’re sold, funding local programs.

The last time a top ten Mega Millions jackpot was hit was in December 2024, when a single ticket in New York won $1.269 billion.

A study by gambling site CSGO found the luckiest and unluckiest numbers in Mega Millions history, based on 950 drawings between 2015 and 2023.

The number 13 has been drawn just 51 times, making it the least lucky.

The number 61, however, is the game’s standout — appearing 90 times over the past eight years.