We joined other lotteries around the country in some research this week and it’s now been confirmed: This is the first time ever that the jackpots in Powerball® and Mega Millions® have topped the $300 million mark at the same time.
Powerball’s big prize is an estimated $307 million annuity ($193.2 million lump-sum option) for tonight’s drawing, while the Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $382 million annuity ($238.3 million lump-sum option) for Friday. That ranks both jackpots in the Top 25 for each game.
The fact that both games are seeing big jackpots at the same time is extremely unusual, and it speaks to the unpredictable factor of lottery jackpots: You just never know when the next big winner will hit.
Could One Person Win Both?
Is it possible for one person to win the jackpot in both games? The short answer is: Yes. But the odds of that occurring are long.
The odds of winning the jackpot in Mega Millions are about 1 in 258.9 million. The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are about 1 in 292.2 million. (Those figures represent the total number of combinations available to play in each game.) To calculate the odds of winning both jackpots, multiply 258.9 million by 292.2 million. There are a lot of zeroes involved! The odds of winning both jackpots are about 1 in 75 quadrillion (that’s 75,000,000,000,000,000).
Winning both jackpots is something fun to daydream about, but it’s perhaps the ultimate long shot. That’s why we emphasize responsible play. Have fun playing the lottery, but remember to play with your head, not over your head.
What’s Behind The Numbers?
Mega Millions and Powerball are both well known for their giant jackpots but before January 2010, they were sold by separate groups of lotteries. U.S. lottery directors reached an agreement back then that allowed both games to be sold by all states. When more states sell a particular game, there’s a bigger population base playing it. That in turn produces higher sales overall and helps the jackpot climb higher.
Time also is a factor. The jackpots in both games have been growing for several weeks. The Powerball jackpot was last won on June 10 with a ticket purchased in California. It’s been growing since that time to hit its current level. Players can buy tickets here in Iowa for tonight’s Powerball jackpot up until 8:59 p.m. The Mega Millions jackpot was last won in the drawing on April 28, also with a ticket purchased in California. Players can buy tickets in Iowa for the next Mega Millions drawing up until 8:59 p.m. Friday. Tickets purchased after those deadlines will be for an upcoming drawing and won’t have a shot at that night’s big prize.
Not The Biggest Jackpots Ever, However
Mega Millions and Powerball have both seen jackpots much larger than their current amounts, but not at the same time. Powerball currently has the world record lottery jackpot: a prize of nearly $1.6 billion that was split in January 2016 by three tickets in California, Florida and Tennessee. The largest Mega Millions jackpot to date is a $656 million prize won in March 2012 by three tickets in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
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