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The odds of winning the lotto are extremely low, but if you win, here's what not to do.
USA TODAY & # 39; HUI

The Powerball and Mega Millions lottery tickets are posted on January 3, 2018 in San Anselmo, California.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

A record Mega Millions prize could await a lucky winner when the multi-state lottery and Powerball will launch a $ 1 billion jackpot on two days Tuesday night.

The Mega Millions jackpot is currently raising $ 654 million, $ 2 million less than the lottery record. The Powerball Jackpot also stands for: There is a jackpot of at least $ 345 million on Wednesday. Both totals should increase.

Inflated payments are a function of a dry jackpot. On July 24, Mega Millions saw a jackpot win when 11 California colleagues shared a cool $ 543 million prize – the biggest prize ever won on a single Mega Million ticket.

More than two months ago, Powerball struck for the last time when New Yorker Nandlall Mangal was the sole winner of $ 245.6 million, officials said the lottery.

"It's so exciting for our players and for all of us to see the Mega Millions jackpot get closer to an all-time record," said Gordon Medenica, senior director of the Mega Millions Consortium and director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming. "With a bit of luck, we could still beat that record."

More: Mega Millions, Powerball Jackpots Total $ 968 Million

More: Hurricane Michael takes Florida out of $ 282 million in Powerball

If you want all the money from Mega Millions in advance, the $ 654 million payout represents $ 372 million. You can cash the $ 345 million Powerball jackpot for $ 199 million.

And if you prefer mathematics to luck, here is a warning that opens your eyes: The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 302,575,350 against 1. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 292,201,388 against 1. Do not quit your job again.

The record $ 656 million prize awarded to Mega Millions dates back to March 30, 2012, when winners from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland divided the money into three parts.

And Mega Millions Friday was not a complete failure. In the draw of October 12, 2,651,183 "winning" tickets were awarded at all price levels. A ticket, sold in Arkansas, allowed the five white balls to win the second prize of the game which, thanks to a multiplier, brought in $ 3 million.

Fifty-five tickets corresponded to four white balls and Mega Ball for the third prize of $ 10,000; seven of them are worth $ 30,000 each, because they include the multiplier.

Three more Mega Millions jackpots were won this year: $ 451 million on January 5th (Florida), $ 533 million on March 30th (New Jersey) and $ 142 million on May 4th (Ohio).

Last week, Powerball suffered a slight setback when the draw was moved from Tallahassee, Florida, to Urbandale, Iowa, due to Hurricane Michael's evacuations.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball reaches all these areas as well as Puerto Rico. Big jackpots could mean lines at certain ticket locations near the drawings.

"The jackpot fever definitely invades the country!" Said Medenica.

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