The Mega Millions jackpot received a $7 million increase Friday afternoon to race past the $400 million mark for tonight’s drawing.

A winner in Friday’s drawing would have the choice of taking home the $405 million jackpot as an annuity or $197.7 million in cash.

“It’s been a fun run for big jackpots this year and Mega Millions is adding one more to that list,” said Terri Rose, Chief Brand Officer of the N.C. Education Lottery. “Good luck to everyone in North Carolina going for the big prize tonight.”

Check out how North Carolinians win when they play Mega Millions:

• 16,981: That’s the total number of winning tickets in North Carolina in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing
• $5.6 million: That’s the estimate of how much money has been raised for education in North Carolina during the current Mega Millions run

The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.

A second chance to win a major jackpot this weekend occurs Saturday night. The Powerball drawing offers a $201 million jackpot, or $100 million in cash. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 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.