No big winner, Mega Millions jackpot climbs to $720 million

TALLAHASSEE – The bad news is that you didn’t win the Mega Millions jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing. The good news is that no one else did either.

That means you still have a shot during the next drawing on Friday when the estimated jackpot will be $720 million.

The winning numbers drawn Tuesday were 19-22-31-37-54 and the Mega Millions number was 18.

While no one won the jackpot, a ticket sold in Florida match the five numbers, but not the Mega Millions number, to win a million dollars.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday, tickets cost $2. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 303 million.

If you want to increase your odds of becoming an instant multi-millionaire, you could always play the Powerball game on Wednesday, it has an estimated jackpot of $1 billion.

The jackpot is the third largest in Powerball history and the seventh largest in U.S. lottery history.

The cash value in a lump sum is about $517 million.

“Yeah, that’s a lot of investments. A lot of opportunities I like that,” said Deux James.

No one has won the Powerball jackpot since April.

“If I won $1 billion, me, personally, I would fix up the community. What else would I do? I mean I would get something nice I will get some shoes,” said James.

So what do you do if you win big?

We went to the experts to find out.

“It’s very important to build a team of professionals around you. Probably the first two people I would like to hire would be a tax attorney and an estate planning attorney,” said Jonathan Barrett with Barrett Financial Solutions.

He said protecting your assets and knowing who can help is important to maintaining your new found wealth.

“So you have to be strategic about what you’re doing based on your goals but diversifying buying many different investments over many different strategies would be most appropriate,” said Barrett.

These tips aren’t just for the lucky few who win big but anyone who comes into any amount of money can heed the advice, said Barrett.

“You’re also going to want to see got a fiduciary, you know a financial planner or advisor who can guide you in these investments, because obviously, all investments come with different levels of risk. It’s not just winning the lottery. It can be an inheritance. It can be trying to make gifts while you’re still alive,” said Barrett.

One billion at stake and all eyes on the prize and all fingers crossed in the hopes of a big win.

“You might not be able to see me in person anymore, but I’ll definitely be outside,” said James.

The odds of winning are one in about 292 million but you have about a one in 25 chance of winning some sort of prize.

Powerball tickets cost $2, and drawings are each Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Count on CBS News Miami to bring you the winning numbers as soon as they are drawn during CBS News Miami at 11.

  
CBS News Miami is your official Florida Lottery station.