No Powerball winner means a combined jackpot of more than $2 billion up for grabs
This hasn’t been a very lucky weekend for would-be millionaires (and billionaires).
There was no winner in Saturday night’s Powerball $430 million drawing, just as there was no winner in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing.
With the potential Powerball jackpot now climbing to around $620 million and the Mega Millions jackpot at around $1.6 billion (the largest jackpot in U.S. history), the lottery money up for grabs next week could top $2 billion.
The next Mega Millions drawing is at 11 p.m. Tuesday and the next Powerball drawing is at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
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.)
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 have received $565.6 million if they took the cash option.
N.C. officials said that in this past 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.
From July 27 through Oct. 16, Mega Millions sales in North Carolina raised an estimated $10.6 million for education, the lottery site said.
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 matching all six numbers and winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
The next Powerball drawing is at 11 p.m. EST Wednesday.
The next Mega Millions drawing is at 11 p.m. EST Tuesday.
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.