Mega Millions Lottery Hits $1.55 Billion; Now the 3rd Largest Jackpot in History

The Mega Millions jackpot is now at $1.55 billion after no winning ticket was announced during last Friday's draw. This is now also the third-largest prize in lottery history.

For the Friday draw, the winning numbers were 11, 30, 45, 52, and 56, and a Mega Ball of 20. So far, nobody has won the Mega Millions jackpot since April 18, with the next draw being scheduled for Tuesday night.

CBS News pointed out that there have only been five Mega Millions jackpots that went over a billion dollars. The record is currently at $1.537 billion, which the current jackpot could potentially beat should it hold until the Tuesday draw with no winners.

This is just for Mega Millions, though, as the lottery record is currently held by Powerball at a $2.04 billion jackpot prize. The winning ticket was sold at a gas station in Altadena, California, which is part of Los Angeles County.

Powerball also has the second-largest prize in US lottery history at $1.586 billion. Should the Tuesday draw still have no winners, Mega Millions could break that, according to NPR.

Mega Millions: Lump Sum or Annuity?

Potential winners for Mega Millions jackpot that surpasses the billion-dollar mark have the option to take the price in a lump sum or in annual payments or annuity.

Should the winner take the lump sum option, they might get an expected payout of approximately $757 million. It might not be as big as the $1.55 billion prize, but the winner would be getting that large amount of money as soon as they cash in.

For those who choose the annuity payments, winners usually receive 30 annuity payments across 29 years. However, overall, the expected payout here is larger, but winners do not get all their money instantly. They do get all of the $1.55 billion over time as opposed to just getting roughly half of that with the lump sum amount.

Despite this, though, more winners choose the lump sum amount as the money can be invested and made to grow as soon as possible.

Taking the Lump Sum for the Mega Millions Jackpot Could Be a Mistake, Says Expert

Around 95% of lottery winners chose the lump sum option, and Chicago-based lawyer Andrew Stoltmann, who has represented several lottery winners, says taking that option is a "big mistake."

He spoke with CNBC and stated, "Let's just say the curse of the lottery is real," and added that there are three "big drains" on lottery winners. These are bad investments, relatives who ask for money, and overspending. Those taking the lump sum often lose all their money on these "big drains."

He advised that winners choose annuity because "you can make those first-, second- or even third-year mistakes, and still have the majority of the corpus coming to you." He also advised getting financial experts to help manage "the windfall" so winners can protect themelf by choosing the annuity payout option.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Mega Millions jackpot soars to $1.55 billion - WFAA