Minecraft Levels Up And Powerball Powers Up For Wednesday’s Drawing

We here at Lottery Geeks aren’t big gamers, and so we sit here a bit gobsmacked that A Minecraft Movie — yes, that’s the title of it — took in $163 million in its opening weekend.

To be fair, we’re not the only ones whose gobs have been smacked; according to Variety, best-guess estimates were half that haul for the Jack Black flick.

Honestly, we’ve watched children “play” Minecraft, and we simply do not understand what in Sam Hill is going on. Bunch of blocks moving around or something. Can you even “win” Minecraft? We have no idea. We may be old, we may be washed, but we also know Pac-Man >>> Minecraft all day, every day.

And while $163 million isn’t what the jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing is set at — it’s an estimated $151 million — it’s close enough. What’s $12 million among friends?

The jackpot has risen that high because nobody won Monday night’s drawing — not even Jack Black or his co-star Jason Momoa. The numbers, for those scoring at home, were 4, 33, 45, 46, 51, and a red Powerball of 25. There were also no Match 5 winners.

Lottery Geeks estimates 7.5 million tickets were sold for the drawing.

Mega minimal

Nobody won the Mega Millions Tuesday drawing, which had winning numbers of 25, 39, 49, 52, 65, and a gold Mega Ball of 22. But one ticket-buyer in Washington state hit all five white balls, along with a 2x multiplier, to take home $2 million.

Friday night’s drawing is for $60 million, after the $50 million drawing Tuesday. Of course, this came on the heels of the first jackpot winner in the era of the $5 Mega Millions tickets, as an Ohio player won the $112 million jackpot — with all “birthday numbers” — last Friday.

Lottery Geeks estimates 4.3 million tickets were sold for Tuesday’s drawing at the minimum jackpot value, easily the fewest number of tickets sold yet at the new $5 price point.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

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. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

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. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California