text: (CNN) -- A few lucky folks across the country will wake up Wednesday a whole lot richer after hitting Tuesday night's $636 million Mega Millions jackpot. 
   
   People who play the lottery love to dream about the things they'd do if they won the big one. Telling the boss off might top your list (not mine, oh no, not mine). Maybe a new mansion and a fancy car and a gasoline-powered turtleneck sweater (right, Steve Martin?). 
   
   We know at least two people matched all the winning numbers: 8, 20, 14, 17 and 39, and a Megaball of 7. If those showed up on your ticket, there are a few important things you should do before you go out and blow your winnings. 
   
   1. Sign the ticket. 
   
   You didn't already? Are you crazy? What if the roommate "claims" it? What if your significant other isn't as significant as you thought? What if you are showing it to someone, say over a beer or 10, and it goes missing? What if you forget it on your desk and you suddenly have the richest cleaning person in the U.S.? Sign it -- if you didn't when you bought it -- because whoever has an unsigned ticket when it gets turned in can call dibs on it. 
   
   It's also time for a selfie. With you and said ticket. It might even be a good idea to run to the drug store and buy a camera with actual film in it. 
   
   And then find a hiding place for that ticket. A safe deposit box is probably, yes, safest. Or go get a portable home safe. Remember, this ain't Canada; no one is going to track you down to hand you your millions. 
   
   2. Contact people who have dealt with large sums of money before 
   
   And we don't mean your Uncle Eddie who says he's doing great with his online stock portfolio or a cousin who just passed the bar. Start with one experienced attorney and look for a seasoned certified financial planner. You don't want to contact more than a few people, lest the word get out before you even get the big cardboard check. 
   
   Your biggest decision right now is whether to take the cash prize (the actual money in the pot) or take an annuity (the estimated value of the cash option plus whatever interest it will earn over 30 years). 
   
   It seems like a no-brainer to get it all up front and do your own investing, but a bright financial mind will help you see if it's best to get 30 checks over time or one check. 
   
   The lawyer you pick will also need to hook you up with specialists in subjects like estate planning, taxes and such. You might want to know if it's best to buy Mom a house or just give her some cash each year or set up some sort of trust fund. I vote to buy the house and let her live there. Wait, is that OK? Need a lawyer. 
   
   Why you keep playing the lottery 
   
   3. Figure out if you can stay anonymous 
   
   Chances are, you can't. Only a few states like South Carolina allow it, so you may want to hire a media consultant or a PR flack. Let someone else plan your appearances after you claim your coin. And remember, you don't have to make your decisions right away. You might have as long as 180 days to claim your prize, but check state rules while you're looking to see if you can remain anonymous. 
   
   But it would be best if you didn't have to give out your name, some former winners say. 
   
   If you can't, lie low for a while. If you can't lie low, it might be prudent to hire a bodyguard. We don't want you to be like the winner in Florida who ended up buried under a driveway. 
   
   4. Plan a trip 
   
   Speaking of staying out of sight, it might be a good time to head to South America. We hear it's nice this time of year. Or someplace like the U.S. Virgin Islands if you don't have a passport. 
   
   One set of winners went straight from the news conference to the airport. They were gone for weeks. If it were me, I might have the news conference at the airport, in front of the private jet. 
   
   If you do duck out for a few weeks, you probably won't come back to find the news media parked in front of your house and people won't recognize you in stores. 
   
   Now there probably will be a pile of mail and e-mails from relatives you never knew you had and messages on the answering machine (if you still have your phone connected). 
   
   Sudden lottery fortunes not always for the best 
   
   5. Don't give up just because you didn't win the top prize 
   
   Every year, a few of the people who match five numbers and win the measly runner-up prize fail to collect their winnings. So check those tickets again to see if you might have won $1 million. You don't want to be among the 2% of people (OK, it's like one or two) who threw away a million bucks. Last year there were $800 million in unclaimed lottery prizes. That's everything from $1 prizes to the $1 million prize (that can be even bigger if you play the multipliers). 
   
   It might be, for instance, the guy I talked to at a sandwich shop in the CNN food court who says he plays only when the jackpots are huge. He checks to see where the big winner lives and if it's not here, he tosses his tickets. 
   
   $800 million in lottery prizes go unclaimed 
   
   But if you do get a piece of the top prize, you'll be in rare territory. The jackpot is near the U.S. record, which was a $656 million Mega Millions prize, shared by three winning tickets in March 2012. 
   
   The $636 million estimate for Tuesday's jackpot was the latest figure as of around noon ET, updated from $586 million a day earlier, Virginia Lottery spokeswoman Rachel Buhse said. If there's one winner, and the winner chooses the lump-sum cash option, the payout would be $341.2 million. Otherwise, the jackpot would be distributed over 30 annual payments. 
   
   If no one wins Tuesday's jackpot, it will rise to at least $950 million for Friday's drawing, Buhse said. 
   
   CNN's Devon Sayers contributed to this report. ||||| Dec 17 (Reuters) - A last-minute ticket buying frenzy could make Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot the biggest U.S. lottery prize in history, and odds are mounting for a winner just a week before Christmas, a game official said. 
   
   The prize swelled to $586 million on Monday, with another spike in sales expected Tuesday before the 11 p.m. EST (4 a.m., Dec. 18, GMT) drawing, said Paula Otto, Virginia's lottery director, who heads the multi-state Mega Millions game. 
   
   If the winner chooses to take the lump sum cash option, instead of payments over 30 years, the jackpot would be $316 million, according to MegaMillions.com. 
   
   As much as 70 percent of tickets are typically bought the day of the drawing, she said. 
   
   Ticket buying reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with 20 percent more chances sold than expected, Otto said. 
   
   The spending tsunami pushed the prize closer to the record U.S. jackpot of $656 million, won March 2012 in a Mega Millions drawing. The second largest lottery jackpot was $590.5 million, won May 2013 in a Powerball game. 
   
   "If it doesn't surpass the record, we'll be close. It's growing a little faster than we thought," Otto said on Monday. 
   
   The more tickets sold, the better chance someone will match one of the 259 million possible number combinations that could land a jackpot. By Tuesday's drawing, players will have bought enough tickets to cover 65 percent to 75 percent of the possible number combinations to strike it rich, Otto said. 
   
   "You don't know you have a winner unless it's 100 percent covered, though," she said. 
   
   If no one picks the exact combination of numbers that appear on six randomly selected lottery balls, the prize will keep growing until the next drawing on Friday. 
   
   "We've never had a jackpot this high the week before Christmas," said Otto, who kept mum on whether she is hoping for the drama that a Christmas Eve drawing could bring. 
   
   "You like to see winners and you like to see big jackpots. I leave it in the hands of the bouncing balls," Otto said. (Editing by Scott Malone and Steve Orlofsky)
target: – Tonight's Mega Millions prize could end up being the biggest US jackpot ever. It's already hit $636 million; by tonight, it could rise past the $656 million record, Reuters notes. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you win it (you won't). When you can breathe again, you'll want to take quick action to ensure that you deal with your newfound millions safely and effectively. At CNN, Steve Almasy offers a checklist: First, sign the ticket. You don't want to risk losing it, or having a "friend" claim it. While you're at it, you might want to take a selfie with the ticket, then drop it in a safe deposit box. Then, seek out financial experts, but not too many—you want to keep the news quiet as long as possible. "Start with one experienced attorney and look for a seasoned certified financial planner," Almasy writes. Big question: Is there any way you can legally remain anonymous? If you live in South Carolina or a handful of other states, the answer is yes, but generally you'll have a tough time hiding. You might want to hire a PR person. In fact, you might want to slip out of the country until the hubbub over the prize has died down. Didn't win? Don't forget to check if you've qualified for runner-up cash. Last year saw $800 million in unclaimed lottery winnings. Click for Almasy's full piece.