The Mega Millions® jackpot continues to climb while the Powerball® grand prize faces its latest test in that game’s drawing tonight.
No one won the jackpot in last night’s Mega Millions drawing, which pushes the grand prize to an estimated $640 million annuity, $328 million lump-sum option for the game’s next drawing on Tuesday. That’s the 7th-largest jackpot in the history of that game.
The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $875 million annuity, $441.9 million lump-sum option for the game’s drawing tonight. That’s the 3rd-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
This is the 3rd time that the jackpots in Powerball and Mega Millions have simultaneously topped $500 million.
The world record for a lottery prize is the Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion won in November in California.
The Latest Winning Numbers In Both Games
The winning numbers in last night’s Mega Millions drawing were: 10-24-48-51-66 and Mega Ball 15. The Megaplier® number was 2.
The winning numbers in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing were: 23-35-45-66-67 and Powerball 20. The Power Play® number was 3.
Lots Of First-Time & Occasional Players Jumping In Now
When the jackpots really get up there like they are now, lots of first-time and occasional players jump in to buy tickets. Office pools and people buying tickets with friends and family also see a spike.
The Iowa Lottery got questions this week from some folks who said they wanted to play but weren’t sure how, and didn’t want to look silly when trying to buy a ticket.
Here’s the answer: The simplest way to buy a ticket is to ask a clerk at a store for an easy-pick play in Powerball or Mega Millions. The lottery terminal will select the numbers for that play and print out the ticket. Generally, at least 90 percent of the tickets purchased in the games are easy-pick plays.
To give everyone a quick brush-up on how to play the games, the Iowa Lottery keeps how-to-play videos available on its website. It also has reminders to help keep lottery group play fun and hassle free.
Protect Yourself From Scammers Who Notice Big Jackpots, Too
Scam attempts have been at all-time highs in recent years, and while the criminals behind them run cons of all types, they’ll turn their attention to lottery games when jackpots are high.
Scammers have fraudulently used the names and logos of lotteries and well-known lottery games, and the names of lottery winners and lottery officials in an attempt to steal people’s money.
The scams can involve persistent telephone calls and official-looking emails, text messages, social media postings and letters. They promise big prizes and try to lure you into thinking you’ve won. But it’s a scam.
A common thread is that the unsuspecting “winner” is asked to pay money up front for things such as taxes, processing fees or delivery charges.
The scammers can sound quite convincing but it’s important to know this simple truth: There is never a fee to claim a real lottery prize. If you are asked to pay money, it’s a scam.
When you win a prize in a game like Powerball or Mega Millions, you notify the lottery that you’re the winner, not the other way around. The Iowa Lottery has records about the winning ticket and where it was purchased, but the lottery doesn’t know the winner’s identity until that person presents the ticket for payment.
The Iowa Lottery keeps security reminders as a permanent feature on its website to help consumers stay safe.
The Deadline To Buy
Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy tickets for the Mega Millions and Powerball drawings is 8:59 p.m. on the night of the drawing. If you buy a ticket after that, 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.
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