If you would like to start the new year with an extra $246 million in your pocket, then you should try your luck at the the Mega Millions lottery jackpot. The drawing will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 13 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 $159 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, Jan. 9 drawing were 37, 49, 50, 56 and 57, and the Mega Ball number was 8. No one hit the $221 million jackpot, but three people won the $1 million second prize. In addition, 45 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:

Related