Mega Millions jackpot could reach $1 billion

Nobody has won the Mega Millions jackpot since October, meaning the enormous payout up for grabs in Tuesday's drawing is almost certain to grow.

The jackpot jumped Monday to $586 million up from $400 million just last week.

That's already the second-highest jackpot in in lottery history. But at that pace, by Christmas, the payout could reach $1 billion -- the first 10-digit jackpot ever.

The reason for the super-sized prize is because of the new Mega Millions rules, put in place back in October. By increasing the range of numbers from which the player can pick, an individual ticket has a far smaller likelihood of matching all five numbers, plus the gold Mega Ball number.

Still, more people are winning smaller prizes, since the lottery decreased the range from which to choose the Mega Ball number.

In fact, nine people walked away with $1 million from Friday's drawing, for which the player matched the first five numbers, but not the Mega Ball number. Since the new rules introduced the increased second-tier prizes, 39 people have won the $1 million prize.

[Mega Millions]