The Mega Millions jackpot continues to climb as it crossed the $300 million mark for Tuesday’s drawing.

A winner tonight would have the choice of taking home the $303 million jackpot as an annuity or $141.8 million in cash.

“What a fun choice that would be for a lucky North Carolinian deciding between the $303 million annuity or the $141.8 million lump sum,” said Mark Michalko, chief executive officer of the N.C. Education Lottery. “We are all hoping we get a big winner here tonight who gets to make that decision.”

Even though the jackpot remains up for grabs, players are taking home lots of other prizes playing Mega Millions. Friday’s drawing produced more than 17,000 winning tickets in North Carolina.

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.