News release from the Ga. lottery

ATLANTA – Georgia Lottery players have a chance to "jingle all the way" with the jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing at an estimated $140 million to a single annuity winner. It's the most fun $1 can buy.

Mega Millions offers players two payment options: 26 annual payments in equal installments or a single check worth the cash value of the estimated jackpot. Any lucky Mega Millions player who matches all five white ball numbers, along with the Mega Ball number, could walk away with approximately $5.3 million a year (before taxes) for 26 years with the annuity option. Or a player could select the cash option and win a single check worth approximately $87 million (before taxes).

Any Georgia Lottery retailer who sells a winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket can earn the $25,000 retailer incentive bonus payment. If more than one winning jackpot ticket is sold in Georgia, the retailers selling the winning tickets will share the $25,000 retailer incentive bonus.

As with all other Georgia Lottery games, proceeds from Mega Millions will benefit education in the state of Georgia.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11.2 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia's Pre-K Program. More than 1.2 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

MEGA MILLIONS FAST FACTS

• Mega Millions tickets went on sale May 15, 2002, when The Big Game, established in 1996, became Mega Millions.
• The first Mega Millions drawing was held on May 17, 2002.
• Mega Millions drawings are held live in Atlanta at 11 p.m. (ET) every Tuesday and Friday.
• Mega Millions tickets are $1 each.
• Georgia winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim their prize.
• Overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are approximately 1:40.
• Odds for winning the jackpot prize are approximately 1:175 million.
• Mega Millions states include: Georgia, Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington state and California.
• To date, there have been 107 Mega Millions jackpot winners.
• There have been 12 Mega Millions jackpot winning tickets purchased in Georgia.
• Georgia Lottery players can win $250,000 by matching the first five winning numbers.

GEORGIA LOTTERY TOP JACKPOTS

For more information on the Georgia Lottery Corporation and Mega Millions, please visit:

www.galottery.com and www.megamillions.com