Nearly a billion dollars in jackpots have rolled into the New Year. Tonight's Powerball drawing has a Grand Prize of $460 million, and Friday's Mega Millions jackpot has jumped to $418 million.
Nearly a billion dollars in jackpots have rolled into the New Year. Tonight’s Powerball drawing has a Grand Prize of $460 million, and Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot has jumped to $418 million. This is the first time in U. S. history that both jackpots have topped $400 million at the same time. Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot ranks as the 7th largest Powerball jackpot ever and 10th largest U. S. Lottery jackpot. The winning numbers from Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing were – 01 – 42 – 47 – 64 – 70 – and the Mega Ball number was 22. While there was no jackpot winner in Tuesday night’s drawing, Illinois players won more than 67,000 prizes, ranging from $2 to $10,000. QUICK POWERBALL FACTSCurrent jackpot at $460 million; cash option of $291 millionJackpots start at $40 millionOverall odds of winning the jackpot 1:292,201,338Drawings are at 9:59 p.m. (CT) every Wednesday and SaturdayChoose five different numbers 1 to 69 and one Powerball number 1 to 26While the jackpot gets the most attention, there are other prizes to be won in Powerball. Prizes range from $4 for matching just the Powerball to $1 million for matching all five numbers (but not the Powerball). QUICK MEGA MILLIONS FACTSCurrent jackpot is $418 million; cash option of $261 millionJackpots start at $40 millionOverall odds of winning the jackpot 1:305,575,350Drawings are at 10 p.m. (CT) every Tuesday and FridayRight now, the Mega Millions and Powerball games have a combined jackpot of $878 million. The record Mega Millions jackpot is $656 million – three tickets shared that jackpot on March 30,2012. Just behind that is the $648 million jackpot split by two winners on December 17,2013. With slightly better odds than the Powerball game, it’s rare that months pass without someone winning a Mega Millions jackpot. There are several factors for the lack of a winner, including fewer players. The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow ball in the Mega Millions game are one in 259 million. For Powerball, it’s one in roughly 292 million. Revamps to the country’s two big lottery games in recent years decreased the odds of picking all the numbers needed for the top prize, though officials point out it has increased the number of winners who score smaller prizes that range from $1 million to $5 million, depending on the game. Mega Millions tickets are sold in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the U. S. Virgin Islands.
