Mega Millions Jackpot Grows To $550 Million

By Eyder Peralta

Published December 14, 2013 at 12:42 PM EST

A customer buys Mega Millions lottery tickets at a 7-Eleven store on Friday in Chicago, Illinois.

Because no one matched all six numbers on Friday, the Mega Millions jackpot jumped to $550 million for Tuesday's drawing.

It's possible that the second largest pot in the history of the Mega Millions will eventually make a run for the all-time record of $656 million, which was split by three players on March 30, 2012.

NBC News reports:

"Mega Millions had been outshined somewhat by the massive jackpots of the Powerball game, which doubled ticket prices to $2 in January 2012, enriching jackpots as it also added a number of secondary prizes.

"Mega Millions received a makeover of its own in October specifically to increase the size of jackpots. The biggest change was lowering the odds of winning, which led to fewer winners and more rollovers.

"This jackpot has been growing since Oct. 1 and now has rolled over 21 times without a winner."

OK, so dream for a little bit.

Done? CNN provides a reality check: The odds of getting all six numbers correct are about 1 in 259 million.

They also provide context:

• The chance of being struck by lightning over an 80-year lifetime: 1 in 10,000.

• Chance of being attacked by a shark: 1 in 11.5 million.