Mega Millions jackpot rolls over to $640m after no winning tickets were sold

The Mega Millions jackpot soared to $640 million after a winning ticket wasn't sold for Tuesday's drawing.

Players have until the next drawing on Friday at 11pm EST to run and buy additional tickets for a chance to win.

The walkaway cash option for the current jackpot is estimated to be at least $328.3 million.

'It’s by far the largest Mega Millions prize ever offered in the final week of any year, and could provide someone with a very happy New Year’s celebration,' a release on the Mega Millions website read. 

Players have until Friday to buy additional tickets before the next drawing. Pictured: A man buying a Mega Millions ticket on Tuesday 

Tuesday night's winning numbers were white balls 9, 13, 36, 59 and 61, and the gold Mega Ball 11. 

After Tuesday's drawing, the soaring $640 million jackpot became the sixth largest in Mega Million history.

The huge jackpot has rolled over for 30 consecutive drawings, with no one winning since October - when a $502 million prize was shared by winning tickets in California and Florida.

The odds of winning the jackpot - which can be taken immediately in cash at a 30 percent cut or in annual installments over the next 29 years.

Mega Millions is one of America's two big jackpot games, along with the Powerball. In the two decades since the game started selling tickets, there have been 11 winning jackpots of $500 million or more.

Only six jackpots have been recorded this year. Winning tickets came in California, Florida, New York, Minnesota, Illinois and Tennessee. 

A lucky winner will have the option to walk away with $328.3 million in cash. Pictured: a shopper filling out a lottery ticket in Illinois 

While large, this week's jackpot is only the second-largest payout this year - with the top prize surpassing the hallowed $1 billion mark in July, for just the third time in history.

That historic haul went to two anonymous players sharing a ticket in Des Plaines, Illinois. Both elected for the cash option - which is taxed - of $780.5 million.

If nobody claims the Mega Millions jackpot in the required time limit – which varies between the 45 states in which the game operates – each state will get back the money it contributed to the jackpot. 

The $640 million prize is for winners who choose the annuity option, which is also taxed and paid annually over nearly three decades. Most opt for the cash option.