(RNN) – The Mega Millions lottery is set to give someone more than half a billion dollars on Friday night – assuming anyone can finally match the drawing’s six winning numbers.
The jackpot has now reached $521 million, the fourth-largest in the lottery's history.
It’s been building since Jan. 5, when a 20-year-old man in Florida won $451 million, the fifth-largest sum ever given away.
The drawing on Friday will be held at 11 p.m. ET.
To win the jackpot a ticket must match five numbers from 1 to 70, plus a bonus sixth number from 1 to 25.
It's possible for more than one winning ticket to be sold – the largest jackpot ever, in 2012, split $656 million between three people in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
The largest single winning ticket awarded $536 million to an Indiana family in 2016.
Mega Millions tickets cost $2, and can generally be found at convenience stores and gas stations. Six states – Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah – do not participate. The District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands do.
If no winning ticket is sold, the jackpot would once more roll over into next week, at that point likely becoming the third-largest jackpot ever.
Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
