Mega Millions Winning Numbers For July 8 Announced: Did You Win?

UPDATE: The winning numbers for the Friday, July 8 Mega Millions jackpot are: 8 19 20 55 73 Mega ball 5.

The jackpot for Friday, July 8's Mega Millions drawing is up to $540 million, the third-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever and the seventh-largest jackpot of any kind in North America.

The cash payout would send the winner home with $380 million.

“This is a fun and exciting time for Mega Millions lottery players,” New Jersey Lottery Executive Director, Carole Hedinger said in a press release. “Remember, anything can happen in Jersey. Players should get in the game, but they should play responsibly.”

Lottery officials say that about $1 billion worth of Mega Millions tickets have been sold since the last winning ticket, according to the Associated Press.

The jackpot still isn't nears as large as January's Powerball jackpot, which was worth nearly $1.6 billion.

The record Mega Millions jackpot is $656 million won on March 30, 2012. Just behind that is the $648 million jackpot split by two winners on December 17, 2013. Those are the only two Mega Millions jackpots in history higher than Friday night’s estimated prize.

SEE ALSO: NJ Woman Finds Lottery Ticket Worth Nearly $500K Cleaning Her House

The largest lotto jackpot in U.S. history -- almost $1.6 billion prize in the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing -- was split by three winners. Mega Millions has awarded 10 jackpots of more than $300 million.

Friday's prize ranks as the seventh-largest jackpot in the United States of all lottery games, including Powerball, officials said, and the third-largest prize for the Mega Millions game in its history.

The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball are one in 259 million.

Mega Millions is played in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

No matter how many people play Mega Millions, the chances of winning never change. The chances of winning are based on the amount of number combinations, not the number of players buying tickets, say lottery officials. The Mega Millions game is played by selecting five numbers out of 75 choices (the numbers from 1 to 75), and by selecting one extra number from 1 to 15 (that's the Mega Ball).

So, what should you do if you win the big prize?

Many lottery winners hire an attorney, financial planner or both since most people don’t exactly know what to do when they suddenly come into so much money.

Some even bring their lawyer with them to claim their prize. The lottery itself does not offer any counseling services or advice for winners.

You have two choices when you claim your prize: the full value paid in 30 installments over 29 years or a one-time lump sum that is smaller than the actual total.

Then there’s the taxes. The federal tax on lottery winnings is 25 percent. Then, any extra income taxes like state or city would apply.

Financial experts say that if you can get more than a 3 or 4 percent return on an investment, the lump sum is actually the best way to go in the long-term.

Deb Belt contributed to this report.