What’s Greater, The Mega Millions Jackpot Or Kamala Harris’ Record July Fundraising Haul?
Election fever and jackpot fever are both rising, as 19 million tickets were sold for the last Mega Millions drawing
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With 90 days until the U.S. presidential election, already a total whipsaw of intrigue and drama, we have the fever here at Lottery Geeks and are framing the currently jackpot accordingly.
The answer to the headline question is Mega Millions. Now at 17 drawings in a row without a winner, the grand prize in the Mega Millions has grown to approximately $374 million, which is $64 million greater than Vice President Kamala Harris’ record fundraising haul of $310 million from July, achieved in 10 days after Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, making way for Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee.
By Lottery Geeks’ calculations, approximately 19.4 million tickets were sold for last Friday’s draw, which had a jackpot of $358 million. That’s the most entries purchased for any drawing during this current run.
The four prior draws attracted, from most recent to least recent, 16.8 million, 17.4 million, 15.5 million, and 16 million — with the Friday sales consistently outpacing the Tuesday sales.
So with the jackpot up to $374 million (cash option: $183.9 million) for this upcoming Tuesday night draw, will the sales dip down somewhere slightly below that 19.4 million from last Friday? Or is the 20-million-ticket mark within reach?
Makin’ millionaires
In Friday’s drawing, where the winning numbers were 6, 7, 24, 44, and 54, with a gold Mega Ball of 13, nobody hit the jackpot, but two players connected on everything but the Mega Ball. Those customers, in California and Washington state, won $1 million apiece.
In the two Powerball drawings since that Mega Millions drawing, two customers have scored $1 million and a third hit for $2 million.
On Saturday, with an estimated $164 million Powerball jackpot, one player in Massachusetts hit all five white balls (13, 33, 40, 60, 61) but missed the red Powerball of 20, while a player in New York did likewise but also played the Power Play multiplier to win $2 million.
In Monday’s drawing with a $174 million jackpot, with winning numbers 29, 42, 44, 51, 54, and a red Powerball of 12, one additional millionaire was crowned, in Iowa.
By Lottery Geeks’ estimates, about 8.3 million tickets were sold for the Monday Powerball game, and 12.3 million were sold for Saturday’s drawing.
The Powerball jackpot is now up to $185 million (cash value: $92.1 million) for Wednesday’s drawing, after 14 straight without a winner.
Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with an option in most states to play the Megaplier or Power Play multiplier for an extra $1. Both lotteries are available in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Powerball and Mega Millions entries are also sold in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while only Powerball is available in Puerto Rico.
All-Time Biggest Jackpots
Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:
- $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
- $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
- $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
- $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
- $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
- $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
- $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
- $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
- $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
- $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California
And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:
- $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
- $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
- $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
- $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
- $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
- $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
- $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
- $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
- $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
- $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California
