A large sum of money that is the top prize in a lottery, game, or other event. The term is also used to refer to a windfall in other financial areas, such as a substantial return on an investment. It’s almost human nature to daydream about hitting the jackpot. Whether the dream involves winning the lottery, backing the right horse in a race, or getting in on a lucrative IPO, we all have our version of what it would be like to win big.

Lottery jackpots are becoming more common, though the prize size hasn’t necessarily increased. The current Mega Millions jackpot has reached $1.1 billion, which is a big prize but not a record-breaker. The reason is simple: Lottery organizers have found a happy medium between the odds of winning and the number of people who play the lottery. The current odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are roughly 1 in 292 million, which is about what you’d expect to see if the lottery served the combined populations of only five states.

If you won the lottery, you’d have to decide whether to receive your prize in a lump sum or over 30 years as an annuity. In either case, you’d have to pay federal and state taxes on the amount you win.

You’d have to consult a tax expert to figure out what your tax bill would be. Some states require lottery winners to publicly disclose their names, while others do not. Your name and the town where you bought your ticket may be public record in California, for example, but in Idaho and Missouri, only your first initial and last name is made public unless you’ve signed a release form.