The Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow as Friday night’s drawing offers a jackpot worth $355 million.

A North Carolina winner would have the choice of taking home the $355 million jackpot as an annuity or $187.6 million in cash.

“When players see a jackpot of that size, they start to dream about how a win of that magnitude would change their life,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Just remember there are nine ways to win so check your tickets carefully after Friday’s drawing. Good luck to all North Carolinians who are going for the jackpot.”

Even though the jackpot remains up for grabs, North Carolinians are taking home lots of other prizes as Tuesday’s drawing produced more than 18,000 winning tickets.

The Mega Millions jackpot is on a roll with 16 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. The last jackpot came in the Jan. 31 drawing when one ticket in Massachusetts took home the $31 million jackpot. That win marked the fourth jackpot win in the month of January alone.

In the history of the Mega Millions game, there had never previously been four jackpot wins in any single month. The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

Players can buy Mega Millions tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com, or with the lottery’s app, the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program educates and empowers North Carolinians to make smart decisions when they play the lottery. March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month and the lottery highlights Play Smart to help ensure when North Carolinians play the lottery it doesn’t become more than a game. Visit nclottery.com/PlaySmart to learn how the Play Smart program helps someone create a game plan to keep lottery play fun. If you or someone you know needs support, visit morethanagame.nc.gov/ for free, confidential help.