Got your tickets yet? Lottery fever rises as Mega Millions jackpot hits a record.
More than $1 billion is up for grabs in Friday night’s Mega Millions lottery drawing, and there’s a separate $430 million pot for Saturday night’s Powerball drawing.
Lottery fever is running rampant, and North Carolina players have as good a chance as anyone at winning the games. (Though the odds are against you.)
Mega Millions announced a record $1 billion jackpot Friday, the largest in the history of the game. The jackpot has been rolling every drawing since July 27, when it started at $40 million. According to the N.C. Education Lottery, which offers Mega Millions tickets, a single winner in Friday’s drawing would receive $565.6 million if they took the cash option.
N.C. officials said that in Tuesday’s drawing, 93,726 tickets sold in North Carolina won a prize, ranging from $2 to $10,000. Winners have 180 days to claim their prizes.
Three tickets sold in North Carolina were among the 100 $10,000 winners nationwide, lottery officials said. They were sold in Brunswick County at the Minuteman Food Mart on Southport Supply Road in Supply; in Surry County at the Sheetz on South Main Street in Dobson; and in Guilford County at Quality Mart on N.C. 68 North in Oak Ridge.
From July 27 through Oct. 16, Mega Millions sales in North Carolina raised an estimated $10.6 million for education, the lottery site said.
Meanwhile, the Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing stands at an estimated annuity of $430 million. The estimated cash value is $248 million.
Powerball and Mega Millions are the two games with the largest payouts offered by the N.C. Education Lottery, and both are sold in many other states.
Both games have been modified in recent years to increase jackpots. The changes made it less likely that any given ticket will win the top prize, but they increased chances of winning smaller prizes.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
The next Mega Millions drawing is at 11 p.m. EST Friday.
The next Powerball drawing is at 11 p.m. EST Saturday.
How to play
Mega Millions
Tickets are $2 at any place that sells N.C. lottery tickets. Players get five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega number between 1 and 25. You can pick your own numbers or the computer will do it for you.
You must match all five numbers plus the Mega number to win the grand prize. There are smaller prizes, from $2 up to $1 million, for matching some, but not all, numbers.
For an additional $1 you can get a “Megaplier” ticket that will increase the amount of the smaller prizes, but not the grand prize.
Powerball
Tickets are $2 and players choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. Again, the computer can do this for you if you don’t want to choose your own numbers.
The jackpot goes to a winner who matches the five numbers and the Powerball number. There are smaller prizes, from $4 up to $1 million, for matching some, but not all, numbers.
For an extra $1 you can get a “Power Play” ticket in which you can increase the amount of the smaller prizes, but not the grand prize.
This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Got your tickets yet? Lottery fever rises as Mega Millions jackpot hits a record.."