Tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot reaches $312 million

The top prize in the multi-state game has been growing twice a week for nearly two months, since players in Indiana and Michigan split a $45 million jackpot on Feb. 1.

Brisk ticket sales prompted lottery officials to bump the top prize up from an earlier-announced $304 million to $312 million.

If a single player matches all six numbers in tonight’s drawing and chooses the cash option, that player would receive an estimated $198 million before taxes. If that player chooses to be paid over time, he or she would get approximately $12 million a year for 26 years.

Saturday night’s Powerball game carries a current jackpot of $125 million.

The odds of winning the top Mega Millions prize are one in 175 million, slightly better than the one in 195 million odds of winning Saturday’s Powerball jackpot.