Mega Millions Jackpot Grows, What You Need to Know

It may not be the Powerball, but the Mega Millions lottery could make you very, very rich and here's what you need to know.

Powerball seems to be the most popular lottery game around primarily because of the potentially huge jackpots that can be won. But, Friday's Mega Millions expected jackpot of $508 million is winning over a lot of players from the Powerball side.

The two games are very similar in that you pick six numbers with the hope of winning a big cash prize.  But, there are a couple of key differences.

The first and most noticeable difference between Powerball and Mega Millions is the ticket price which is $2 for Powerball and just $1 for Mega Millions.

The other difference  between Powerball and Mega Millions has to do with the numbers themselves. With Powerball, you are picking five numbers between 1 and 69  and one number between 1 and 26 for the Powerball.  In the Mega Millions game, you are selecting five numbers between 1 and 75, and one number between 1 and 15 for the so-called "mega ball."

One big similarity between the games is that if you should win the jackpot you have the option of taking the lump sum cash option, which in this case is near $358 million, minus taxes -- or you can choose to receive 30 annual payments over the next 30 years.

The other big similarity between the games is that your odds of winning the jackpot are not very good. For Friday's Mega Millions drawing, your odds of winning are just one in 259 million. But, I'm saying there is a chance.