Mega Mania? The Mega Millions Jackpot Climbs to $515 Million

It's back. Mega Millions mania. Have you noticed that anytime one of these national lotteries passes the half-million dollar threshold, there is a considerable uptick in interest from the average person who might not usually even play the lottery?

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot sits at $515 million, ranking as the ninth highest Mega Millions prize in the game's history. The cash option is $346.3 million.

The last Mega Millions jackpot winner came Feb. 16. In January, a single ticket in Michigan scored the second-highest Mega Millions jackpot in history at $1.050 billion.

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Friday's drawing will be the 27th since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold.

If you are a Mega Millions Lottery newcomer, here's how to play.

Players may pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers - five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 25 (the gold Mega Ball) - or select Easy Pick/Quick Pick.and let the computer do the picking for you.

You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a drawing. Mega Millions tickets are $2.

The odds of matching all five numbers and the Mega number are 1 in 302,575,350, according to the New Jersey Lottery. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24.

The Mega Millions game is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands.