Mega Millions Jackpot Grows To Record $476 Million

If this blogger's photo isn't on The Two-Way next Monday, assume it's because he's gotten very lucky and is headed for some exotic location:

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot will be a record $476 million. The previous high was $390 million, in 2007.

Last night, as the Philadelphia Inquirer recounts, no ticket matched all six numbers in the lottery's drawing. So no one won a jackpot that was already a tidy $363 million.

Now, thanks to ticket sales that are projected to be very strong, game officials say Friday's drawing will be worth that record $476 million. Or, $341 million if you go with the lump sump cash option. (Those are pre-tax figures, of course.)

We know the odds are long — about 1 in 176 million that a ticket will be the big winner. And we don't want to encourage reckless gambling. But, we wonder:

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.