JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tuesday night’s Mega Millions Jackpot is up to $785 million — with a cash option just shy of $400 million.
The prize has rolled over 22 times since October. To put this amount of money into perspective — it is enough to buy out every ticket for every seat at TIAA Bank Field more than 100 times during a normal Jaguars season.
2022 was a big year for lottery jackpots, with one prize hitting $2 billion, and 2023 is already starting out with a big prize.
Paulya Fields was speechless when News4JAX told her about the more than half-a-billion-dollar Mega Millions Jackpot.
“Okay I’m going to play the lotto,” Fields said.
News4JAX also told her about the Powerball prize.
“It sounds like I’m finna play everything. I’m about to play everything today. There goes my check,” Fields said.
If you believe in New Year’s traditions like eating black-eyed peas or fish to bring good luck, start chowing down, you’ll need as much luck as you can get.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions are 1 in 302 million, but that’s not stopping William Vines from taking his chances.
“I would buy my mom a new house and save the rest for the homeless people,” Vines said.
Lisa Carrasco plans to shoot her shot and wants to give back to the community if she wins.
“I’ve always wanted to start a charity where I bought one of those old beat-up malls that people used to go to but nobody uses but you can turn it into a homeless shelter and a pet shelter,” Carrasco said. “So that the homeless people can maybe take care of the pets so that’s what I would do.”
The Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday at 11 p.m.