The Mega Millions® jackpot has made it through another drawing and is now the 2nd-largest prize in the history of that game. Not to be left out, the Powerball® jackpot is currently the 9th-largest in that game.
Details About The Next Drawings
Powerball has the next drawing up, at 9:59 p.m. tonight. The Powerball jackpot currently stands at an estimated $550 million annuity, $411.4 million lump-sum option. The game’s top prize was last won Sept. 16 with a ticket purchased in New York, and it hasn’t been this big for more than four years.
And, nobody won last night’s giant Mega Millions jackpot, so it has grown even further. It now stands at an estimated $750 million annuity, $550.6 million lump-sum option for its next drawing at 10 p.m. Friday. With sales going strong across the country, it’s likely that amount will increase again before the drawing occurs. The Mega Millions jackpot was last won on Sept. 15 with a ticket purchased in Wisconsin, and it hasn’t been this big for more than two years.
This is just the second time that the jackpots have simultaneously topped the $500 million mark. The first time that happened was in October 2018 when the Mega Millions jackpot reached a record amount in that game of more than $1.5 billion.
Why Don’t You Just Divide It Up?
We’ve heard this week from some folks who say that with the jackpots this high, the money should just be divided up among more winners. A couple details about that: Overall sales in the games would appear demonstrate a different mindset. Sales have always followed the jackpots up, so it seems that a whole bunch of folks do want a chance at a giant prize.
And, the rules in Powerball and Mega Millions don’t speak to the jackpots being divided up. Lotteries couldn’t just decide to do something different this time around – people have already purchased tickets under the current rules. We do pay attention to input and ideas, though, so please keep the feedback coming.
For Newcomers (Or Those Needing A Refresher)
Giant jackpots attract the attention of a lot of first-timers and bring occasional players into the mix as well. If you need a refresher or crash course, the Iowa Lottery keeps how-to-play videos on its website to give everyone the key details in just a couple minutes.
Keep Your Group Play Hassle-Free
We also see people pooling their money to buy tickets together, whether at work or with family and neighbors. And we’ve had groups win prizes in the past that then needed to go back through their own records to figure out just who was in the money.
We have a list of reminders on our website to help you keep group play hassle free. Please check them out, especially if you’re the person buying tickets for your group.
General Pointers
Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy tickets for the Mega Millions and Powerball drawings is at 8:59 p.m. the night of the drawing. If you buy a ticket after that deadline, it will be for an upcoming drawing and you won’t be in the running for that night’s giant prize.
And, please remember to play responsibly. You only need one ticket to have a chance to win. We also want everyone to be safe and follow social distancing guidelines when you’re out and about. Think about buying your tickets if you’re already out running errands so you don’t have to make a special trip to get them.
Hi, Randy. The messages that are printed at the top of lotto and InstaPlay tickets are used to highlight a variety of Iowa Lottery products and initiatives, including promotions. The current message, as you have noted, references "The Cash Game," one of the Iowa Lottery's new scratch games. Nonwinning tickets in that scratch game can be entered into the Prize Zone promotion for a chance to win a cash prize
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | January 13, 2021 at 01:53 PM
I purchased Mega Millions tickets, and they indicate at the top of each ticket "Play the Cash Game" I located Prize Zone and could not find any info as how to enter my no winner tickets to have a chance to win $100,000. What am I doing wrong? I can't scratch off any thing on these tickets !! I assume these are not eligible! Is that correct?
Posted by: Randy Betsworth | January 13, 2021 at 11:50 AM