The Powerball® jackpot has hit $1 billion for just the 3rd time in the game’s history, with no grand-prize winner in its drawing last night. And with the Mega Millions® jackpot also in the stratosphere, the two games’ grand prizes have now reached a combined total of more than $1.6 billion.
The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1 billion annuity, $516.8 million lump-sum value, for the game’s next drawing tomorrow night. That’s the 3rd-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
The Mega Millions jackpot faces its next test in its drawing tonight. The game’s grand prize is an estimated $640 million annuity, $328 million lump-sum option. That’s the 7th-largest jackpot in the history of that game.
This is the 3rd time that the jackpots in Powerball and Mega Millions have simultaneously topped $600 million.
The Latest Winning Numbers & Iowa Prize Totals
The winning numbers in last night’s Powerball drawing were: 5-8-9-17-41 and Powerball 21. The Power Play® number was 4. Iowa Lottery players won a total of 27,127 prizes in that drawing.
The winning numbers in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing were: 10-24-48-51-66 and Mega Ball 15. The Megaplier® number was 2.
Iowa Lottery players won a total of 45,558 prizes in the two games’ weekend drawings.
Iowa Sales For Last Night’s Drawing
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $1.5 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $1.2 million in tickets yesterday alone.
But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for last night’s drawing remained about $6, or about three plays per ticket. At the Iowa Lottery, we’re glad to see that a lot of people are having fun playing and haven’t gone overboard.
What Does ‘Coverage’ Mean For A Jackpot Drawing?
By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations in the game have been purchased for a particular drawing. The term involved is coverage – how many of the combinations have been “covered.”
The coverage estimate for last night’s Powerball drawing was 21.5 percent. The figure is expected to be higher for Wednesday’s drawing.
The coverage estimate for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing is 16 percent.
Remember The State Where You Bought Your Ticket
With a lot of people enjoying the summer travel season, remember that prizes need to be claimed from the lottery where you bought your ticket.
Powerball and Mega Millions are sold across the country, but each lottery has its own gaming system that generates tickets in that jurisdiction. The tickets involved can only be scanned or cashed by lottery equipment in that particular state.
The Iowa Lottery has gotten questions this week from players asking if they could cash tickets in Iowa that they bought in another state, and vice versa.
The answer is no – those prizes need to be claimed from the lottery in the jurisdiction where they were purchased.
An Important Reminder About Lottery Scams!
Scam attempts have been at all-time highs in recent years, and while the criminals behind them run cons of all types, they turn their attention to lottery games when jackpots get up there.
Scammers have fraudulently used the names and logos of lotteries, well-known lottery games, and sometimes the names of lottery winners and lottery officials to try to steal people’s money.
The scams can involve repeated 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 is a scam.
A common thread is that the unsuspecting “winner” is asked to pay money up front. The scammers claim it’s needed for things like 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 big prize in a game like Powerball or Mega Millions, the lottery doesn’t reach out to you. 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 we don’t know the winner’s identity until that person comes to one of our offices with the ticket.
The Iowa Lottery keeps security reminders as a permanent feature on its website to help consumers stay safe.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Have fun playing, but stay within your means.
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