There's no better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than by winning $20 million. However, to make this dream a reality, then you must purchase a ticket for the Mega Millions lottery drawing, if you have not done so already. The Friday, July 4 lottery jackpot drawing currently stands at $20 million.

The jackpot winner will have a choice of how they would like to be paid. They could choose the "Cash Option" and receive a one-time lump-sum payment of $11 million. Or they can choose the "Annual Payout" option, which provides annual payments over a 29-year period, according to the Mega Millions website.

The overall odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 15, but the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 259 million.

Mega Millions drawings take place every Tuesday and Friday after the draw entry closes at 10:45 p.m. EDT. Tickets are sold in 43 states as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which makes a total of 45 jurisdictions. The winning numbers are drawn at WSB-TV in Atlanta.

The Mega Millions winning numbers from the Tuesday, July 4 drawing were 9, 22, 38, 47 and 49, and the Mega Ball number was 15. No one hit the $15 million jackpot or the $1 million second prize. However, 18 lucky winners were able to win the Match 4 + 1 and each walked away with $5,000. Each $5,000 lottery winner matched four out of five white Mega Millions winning numbers and the gold Mega Ball number. To purchase a ticket, head over to the Mega Millions Where to Play page.

There are nine ways to win the Mega jackpots, which start at $15 million. Plus, it only costs $1 to get in the game. According to the website, Mega Millions is the biggest jackpot game in the country.

You can watch a live stream of the lottery drawings at 11 p.m. EDT below:

Related