UPDATE on Friday, Jan. 22: The jackpot for tonight's Mega Millions drawing has been raised even further, now at an estimated $1 billion annuity. The new details are included here.
The long, fun roll for the Powerball® jackpot has ended, while the giant prize in Mega Millions® is still in the stratosphere.
Last night’s $731.1 million Powerball jackpot was won with a ticket purchased in Maryland. But the Mega Millions jackpot continues on, currently standing at an estimated $1 billion annuity, $739.6 million lump-sum option for that game’s next drawing at 10 p.m. Friday.
Drawing Details, Iowa Tickets That Won Prizes
A total of 41,368 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes in last night’s Powerball drawing, ranging from $4 up to $50,000.
The $50,000-winning ticket was just one number away from having a share of Wednesday’s jackpot, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. That ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 1200 Fifth Ave. NE in Independence.
The winning numbers in last night’s Powerball drawing were: 40-53-60-68-69 and Powerball 22. The Power Play number was 3.
In Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, 35,826 plays in Iowa won prizes, so between the two games, Iowa players have won prizes on more than 77,000 plays so far just this week.
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $2.4 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $1 million in tickets yesterday alone. Given the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency, those figures are understandably both well down from sales totals during other recent times with giant jackpots.
The average Powerball purchase yesterday in Iowa remained about $6, or three plays per ticket. Lottery officials are glad to see that Iowans are having fun playing but haven’t gone overboard.
Huge Numbers For Easy Picks
The vast majority of tickets being purchased in both games are easy picks, meaning that the players opted to have the lottery terminal randomly select the numbers involved. More than 91 percent of the plays purchased for last night’s Powerball drawing were easy picks, while nearly 94 percent of the tickets purchased for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing were easy picks.
The odds of winning are the same for every ticket in the games, whether the player buys an easy pick or chooses their own numbers. There are more easy-pick winners simply because most of the tickets being purchased are easy picks.
Anecdotes About Less Pool Play
A new phenomenon being seen in Iowa during this big jackpot run appears to be an offshoot of so many people working from home during the COVID-19 health emergency.
Anecdotally, Iowa Lottery retailers report they’re not seeing as many players buying tickets in office pools or with groups of friends and neighbors. Remaining socially distanced means a lot of folks aren’t gathering in those central spots where they would have joined in pool play.
The ‘Longest Roll’
The length of time that a jackpot continues to grow is often referred to as a roll, meaning that it keeps rolling without being hit. Powerball just ended its longest roll ever: Wednesday’s drawing was the 36th since that game’s jackpot had been won on Sept. 16 with a ticket purchased in New York.
The Mega Millions jackpot also is on its longest roll – and it’s still going! Friday’s drawing will be the 37th since the Mega Millions jackpot was last won on Sept. 15 with a ticket purchased in Wisconsin.
What’s That About ‘Coverage’?
By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations have been purchased for a particular drawing. The coverage estimate for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is about 40 percent. (The odds of winning the jackpot in Mega Millions are about 1 in 302.6 million because that’s how many ways the numbers in the game can be combined in a play.)