(LEX 18) — Tuesday night's Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $1.1 billion for more than two months.
So what should you do on the off chance—and we do mean off chance—you win by matching all six winning numbers?
We went to the experts at with that question.
"I would definitely keep it quiet," said financial advisor Logan Gilland. "You don't need to tell everybody. I would get a good lawyer."
After the shock wore off, you'd have to decide on the payout. You could choose one lump sum of around $300 million after taxes, or you could pick annuity payments for three decades, totaling around $700 million.
Gilland's advice might surprise you. He recommends getting the cash up front.
"You pay a lot of taxes now, but then you kind of control the destiny of that money," he said. "You don't worry about taxes going up in the future, a lot of different changes that could happen. You control the money."
From there, he recommends saving, investing, and enjoying the influx of cash, within reason.
"It's important to use a portion of that money and have some fun with it, but at the same time, you're saving it, putting it into the right vehicles," he said. "You're not getting super aggressive or putting all your money into Dogecoin or something like that."
Tuesday's drawing is at 11 p.m. Unfortunately, the odds of winning are measly—lower than getting drafted to the NBA or achieving sainthood.
