Numbers drawn for Friday's estimated $977 million Mega Millions jackpot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Check your tickets! The numbers have been drawn for Friday's estimated $977 million Mega Millions jackpot.

The numbers are: 3-8-31-35-44, with a Mega Ball of 16 and a 3x Megaplier.

To check your numbers, click here.

The estimated cash option for the jackpot is $467 million. If no one hits Friday's jackpot, it will continue to grow. The next drawing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, at 11 p.m.

There hasn't been a Mega Millions winner since Dec. 8. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24; the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.

Mega Million tickets are $2 and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The advertised Mega Millions jackpot of $977 million is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with an initial payment and then annual checks for 29 years. Nearly all winners actually prefer a cash payout, which for Friday night's drawing would be an estimated $467 million.

Before forking over the money, lottery officials also would deduct 24% for federal taxes. The final tax bill could ultimately be higher though, as some of the winnings could be subject to the top federal tax bracket of 37%. State taxes also could be assessed, depending on where a player bought the winning ticket.

There also is a chance that more than one person will buy a winning ticket — as in 2016, when there were three winning tickets for a $1.6 billion lottery jackpot. Whatever the jackpot amount, it could be divvied into smaller prizes.

According to the Kentucky Lottery website, there hasn't been a big jackpot collected in Kentucky since there were two in 2010.

In Jan. 2010, a Georgetown couple, Rob and Tuesday Anderson, won after a clerk at the Pro Stop Marathon incorrectly printed a Powerball ticket for Rob on Christmas Eve 2009. The mistake ticket ended up hitting the game’s $128.6 million jackpot.

In Dec. 2010, Knott County native and Louisville resident Muncie Meade won the Powerball worth $19.12 million.

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