Mega Millions jackpot grows to $454M -- seventh largest in U.S. history

ATLANTA, July 5 (UPI) -- Millions of Americans are hoping to strike it rich Tuesday in one of the largest lottery jackpots ever offered in the United States -- now almost a half billion dollars.

The newest numbers in the Mega Millions jackpot will be drawn Tuesday night. The lucky winner, if there is one, will receive $454 million.

It's the third largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and seventh largest in U.S. history. The lump sum cash option would pay out $319 million.

"The jackpot has been growing since it was last won on March 8 by Michael Burkett in Washington, who received a $157 million prize," Mega Millions states on its website. "The only other jackpot won this year was a $169 million prize in New York; the winner of that January 8 drawing, Nancy Viola, was just announced last week by the New York Lottery."

Tuesday's #MegaMillions jackpot is an estimated $449 MILLION! See https://t.co/tYBVYXJyuL for ticket info. pic.twitter.com/yugHHYXO1f

— Mega Millions (@MegaMillionsUS) July 4, 2016

The last drawing on Friday did not produce a winner, lottery officials said.

Initially, Mega Millions said Tuesday's pot would be $449 million but strong ticket sales have pushed that figure up by an additional $5 million.

Mega Millions' largest jackpot ever, $656 million, was won by three tickets in 2012. The second largest, $648 million, was won a year and a half later. The largest jackpot ever won in the United States was January's $1.6 billion Powerball prize.

The winning numbers will be drawn at 11 p.m. EDT Tuesday.