Powerball And Mega Millions Jackpots Both Over $200 Million Rolling Into Weekend Draws

From their starting points of $20 million, the two major national draw lotteries have both now 10x’d their jackpots and then some.

Heading into Friday’s draw, Mega Millions has an estimated grand prize of $284 million (cash option: $127.6 million), while Powerball has just crossed the $200 million mark for Saturday night, at an estimated $203 million (cash value: $92.7 million).

Those expanding jackpots mean, however, that it’s been another rough week for lottery players hoping to win big — especially on the Powerball side, where not a single new millionaire was crowned in two tries.

Three is a magic number

But first, the good news: Three Mega Millions tickets in Tuesday’s draw were worth a cool million bucks. Players in California, Mississippi, and New York matched all five white balls — 10, 18, 27, 37, and 61 — but just missed the $257 million jackpot by not having the gold Mega Ball 5 on their tickets.

It has to be painful to go five-for-five on the white balls and know you have a 4% chance of winning the whole she-bang only to see the wrong gold ball pop out. But then again, a million dollars (before taxes) goes a long way toward softening the blow.

This was the 10th straight Mega Millions draw without a jackpot winner since a New Jersey player hit for $1.13 billion on March 26.

Powerball, meanwhile, is at 11 straight contests without a six-for-six match since a trio in Oregon, including cancer patient Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, won the $1.33 billion jackpot on April 6.

And one thing Monday and Wednesday’s Powerball draws both had in common: no five-for-five matches to claim a million dollars.

On Monday, when the estimated jackpot was $164 million, the biggest win was $100,000, claimed by four entrants who matched four white balls and the red Powerball while playing the 2x Power Play multiplier. For Wednesday’s draw, with the jackpot at $180 million, again there were four $100,000 winners and nothing higher than that.

Tickets for either lottery are sold in 45 states — the lone holdouts are all Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and, for at least a little while longer, Alabama. They’re also available in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and, for Powerball only, Puerto Rico.

The odds of winning the Powerball grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million. For Mega Millions, the odds are 1 in 302.6 million.

Tickets for either lottery cost $2, with an option in some states to pay an extra $1 for the prize multiplier.

All-Time Biggest Jackpots

Here 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