The Mega Millions jackpot keeps on climbing as it reached $453 million for Friday’s drawing.

A winner tonight would have the choice of taking home the $453 million jackpot as an annuity or $209.6 million in cash.

Even though the jackpot remains up for grabs, players are taking home lots of other prizes playing Mega Millions. Tuesday’s drawing saw over 20,000 total winners in North Carolina.

“We have seen lots of nice Mega Millions wins recently here in North Carolina,” said Mark Michalko, chief executive officer of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We are all hoping to see a jackpot win here tonight. Good luck to everyone going for the big prize.”

Nationally, the Mega Millions game has delivered three jackpot winners so far this year. The most recent win occurred in Texas with an $810 million jackpot on Sept. 10.

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.