Mega Millions And Powerball Jackpots Both Within Sniffing Distance Of $100 Million

There’s an important word in front of “jackpot” on both the Powerball and Mega Millions websites and anywhere else they’re publicizing their upcoming lottery drawings: “estimated.”

For Tuesday’s draw, Mega Millions has an estimated jackpot of $97 million (cash option: $46.4 million). And for Wednesday night, Powerball’s drawing comes with a $95 million estimated jackpot (cash value: $45.7 million).

The estimates are usually fairly accurate, but if anything, they tend to run conservative, as lottery officials don’t want to advertise one amount and then ultimately have to deliver something smaller.

So, when all is said and done, either Mega Millions or Powerball could end up with a grand prize higher than the current estimates. And that means it’s entirely possible one of them will cross over from eight figures to nine figures, passing that $100 million barrier.

Three million-dollar winners in the last four days

Mega Millions, which hosts two draws per week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, is up to five draws in a row without a jackpot winner. The most recent jackpot win — the second of 2024 — came on June 4, when an anonymous player in Illinois bagged the $552 million prize.

In the most recent Mega Millions drawing, on Friday night, the winning numbers were 3, 18, 27, 40, and 44, with a gold Mega Ball of 19, and one player in Texas matched the five white balls to win an even $1 million before taxes.

Powerball is drawn three times per week and is now up to six straight contests without a jackpot since a New Jersey player won $223 million on June 10. That was the third Powerball grand prize claimed in 2024.

The most recent Powerball game, on Monday, didn’t crown a single millionaire, as no tickets matched all five white balls (5, 6, 36, 53, and 69), never mind the red Powerball (8).

In the previous draw, however, on Saturday, one player in Ohio and one in Virginia perfectly matched the five white balls (4, 5, 15, 32, and 62) but not the red Powerball (21), thus claiming $1 million apiece.

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with an option in most states to play the Megaplier (Mega Millions) or Power Play (Powerball) for an additional $1.

Tickets for both lotteries are available in every state except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Mega Millions entries are also sold in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while Powerball is available in both of those jurisidictions plus Puerto Rico.

All-Time Biggest Jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey
10. $1.08 billion, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $558.1 million, Powerball, July 19, 2023, won in California