Mega Millions draw: Lotto fever grips US over $1.3bn jackpot

One lucky American could be walking away with $1.28bn (£1.05bn) on Friday night, as the draw for the second-largest Mega Millions prize is held.

The cash value option of the jackpot is $747.2m. The winner can choose to take the cash outright or be paid the full jackpot in instalments over 29 years.

But the odds of winning are rather slim - one in 300 million.

The largest Mega Millions prize to date was valued at $1.537bn, and was won by a single ticket sold in South Carolina.

The 2016 Powerball prize, however, remains the largest jackpot in US history - $1.586bn - shared by winners from California, Florida and Tennessee.

It is also the largest ever lottery payout in the world, followed by the $235m EuroMillions prize won in July 2022, the $80m UK Lotto won in January 2021, and the $55m Canadian Lotto Max won in April 2022.

It is possible that no-one holds the winning ticket for Friday's Mega Millions yet, in which case another draw would take place on Tuesday.

The last time someone won the Mega Millions jackpot was 15 April. Since then, Americans have rushed to buy tickets as the prize swelled.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 US states, Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands.

But it would be statistically more likely for an American to be struck by lightning (one in 3,000) or to be killed by a wild animal (one in 1.4 million) than to win the jackpot.