Many people would gladly welcome a $142 million check this Christmas. However, to make this wish come true, then should purchase a ticket for the Mega Millions lottery jackpot, which currently stands at a whopping $142 million before taxes. The drawing will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 11 p.m. EST.

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 $89 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 Friday, Dec. 19 drawing were 14, 18, 58, 59 and 68, and the Mega Ball number was 4. No one hit the $125 million jackpot, but one person won the $1 million second prize. In addition, 34 lucky winners won the Match 4 + 1, which means they 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:

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