Mega Millions jackpot jumps to $535 million ahead of Friday’s drawing. How late can you buy a ticket in South Carolina?

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Lottery players have a chance to take home more than half a billion dollars on Friday night.

The Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an estimated $535 million ahead of the Aug. 23 drawing, according to the South Carolina Education Lottery. The cash payout is $265.6 million.

It marks the third time the Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed $500 million this year.

The drawing will be held at 11 p.m., and South Carolina players still have time to purchase a ticket.

Tickets cost $2 and are available at statewide lottery retailers, such as gas stations and grocery stores. Tickets must be purchased by 9:59 p.m. on the date of the drawing.

The largest Mega Millions win in South Carolina history also happened to hold the record for the world’s largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket for more than four years.

The winning ticket — worth a whopping $1.5 billion — was purchased at the KC Mart convenience store in Simpsonville in October 2018. In January of the following year, the anonymous South Carolina player claimed the winning ticket and chose the cash payment of $877 million.

To win the jackpot, players must match all five white ball numbers and the gold Mega Ball number. The odds of that happening are about 1 in 303 million.

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