Mega Millions prize rises to $266M

Seven weeks - and 14 drawings - without a winner.

Now, the Mega Millions jackpot has swelled to a swell $266 million for Tuesday night's drawing. Which means an awful lot of cash for anyone who hits the lucky ticket.

A one-time cash payment is estimated at $165.2 million.

Before taxes, of course.

All you need to do is buy a ticket and match all five numbers drawn plus the Mega ball. No big deal, right? Hey, the odds of hitting the jackpot in the 38-state lottery - it's also played in Washington, D.C. - is a mere 1 in 175,711,536!

Officials said no one had the numbers drawn last Friday: 14, 20, 41, 47, 53 and 40.

The last time the Mega Millions drawing was hit, one player in Illinois had the winning combo: 2, 15, 25, 48, 53 and 41. But there has been no winner since March 12.

Since Mega Millions was last hit, the numbers 10, 47, 50 and 52 have each come up three times, and 3, 16, 23, 28, 31, 37, 39, 41, 44 and 48 have each come up twice. The Mega ball has twice been 13 or 25 since March 12. All other numbers have appeared once each since then.

The five white balls are numbered 1 to 56. The yellow Mega ball is numbered 1 to 46.

No one has won Powerball since April 21, when someone in Missouri hit the drawing for $258.5 million. The next drawing is Wednesday for $60 million.

That lottery had not been hit since March 13.