The Mega Millions jackpot continues to climb and now stands at $421 million for Tuesday night’s drawing.

A winner tonight would have the choice of taking home the $421 million jackpot as an annuity or $195.9 million in cash.

“What a fun choice that would be – a $421 million annuity or $195.9 million in cash,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Just remember it only takes one $2 ticket to win so play smart and good luck tonight.”

Check out how North Carolinians win when they play Mega Millions:

• 20,039: That’s the total number of winning tickets in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing
• $5.5 million: That’s the estimate of how much money has been raised for education during the current Mega Millions run

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 NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

For details on how money raised by the lottery makes a difference for education programs in all 100 North Carolina counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.