Mega Millions Jackpot in NY $454 Million for July 5 Drawing of Winning Numbers: NY Lottery

Written by Deb Belt (Patch Staff)

With a haul estimated at $454 million, the Mega Millions numbers on Tuesday, July 5, could win you the seventh-largest jackpot of all lottery games in the country's history, say lottery officials.

The one-time cash payout option for Tuesday's game, if you win, is estimated at more than $300 million. Of course, taxes will then take a chunk of that, see below.

The winning numbers will be drawn at 11 p.m. ET.

Patch will have the winning numbers once they are drawn. Come back or sign up for our free news alerts.

Click here for more information on the New York lottery and where to find a retailer. In New York, you can buy a Mega Millions ticket as late as 10:45 p.m. on the day of a drawing.

A March 2012 Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million held the record for the largest lotto jackpot in U.S. history until three winners split the almost $1.6 billion prize in the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing. Mega Millions has awarded 10 jackpots of more than $300 million.

Tuesday's prize ranks as the seventh-largest jackpot in the United States of all lottery games, including Powerball, officials said, and the third-largest prize for the Mega Millions game in its history.

The Mega Millions game is played by selecting five numbers out of 75 choices (the numbers from 1 to 75), and by selecting one extra number from 1 to 15 (that's the Mega Ball).

The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball are one in 259 million.

Mega Millions is played in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

No matter how many people play Mega Millions, the chances of winning never change. The chances of winning are based on the amount of number combinations, not the number of players buying tickets, say lottery officials.

CNN explains the tax implications of winning the big prize:

Lottery winnings are taxed like income, and the IRS taxes the top income bracket 39.6%. The government will withhold 25% of that before the money ever gets to the winner. The rest has to be paid at tax time. Then there are local taxes. Of the 44 U.S. states that participate in Powerball, all but a handful will take an additional cut of the money, according to lottery statistics site USA Mega.

Patch Editor Alfred Branch contributed to this report.