Top prizes for Mega Millions, Powerball add up to $ 1.3 billion

Billions of dollars are up for grabs this week as the jackpots for Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries continued to grow after players failed to win the top prize for months.

In total, $ 1.3 billion is available – a jackpot of $ 750 million is expected for Friday’s Mega Millions draw and $ 550 million for Wednesday night’s Powerball draw. These totals rank second for the Mega Millions jackpot and ninth for Powerball.

While these numbers are grabbing the attention of players across the country, they pale from the record highs of $ 1.53 billion in October 2018 for Mega Millions and $ 1.58 billion in January 2016 for Powerball. Still, hopes of winning are high, as evidenced by increased ticket sales across Pennsylvania.

This week, Mega Millions sales in the state are up more than 700% from the same period last year, while Powerball sales are up 200%, according to Ewa Swope, press secretary of the Pennsylvania Lottery. On Wednesday, sales hit $ 2,430 per minute for Mega Millions and Megaplier and $ 4,776 per minute for Powerball and Power Play.

“Ticket sales are increasing as the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots increase,” Swope said. “As you can imagine, bigger jackpots certainly generate bigger sales.”

The money generated from these sales is divided. Of every dollar, 65.5% is for winning prizes, 24.5% for senior programs, 7.4% for commissions from retailers and vendors, and 2.6% for operating expenses of the lottery agency. State.

That was about $ 1.14 billion for senior programs in the 2019-20 fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to the lottery website.

Lottery players have been vying for the top prize in Mega Millions and Powerball since September, the last time someone won the jackpot. For the Mega Millions, Friday’s draw will be the 35th in the current race, or the longest throw in the game’s history.

Meanwhile, both games produced winners, with 25.5 million Mega Millions tickets considered winners across all prize points and 41 worth $ 1 million or more. A similar number has been recorded for Powerball, with over 24 million winning tickets sold since the last jackpot was awarded, including 24 tickets worth $ 1 million and 10 tickets worth $ 2 million. dollars.

The jackpot totals promoted by the lotteries are the totals for those who opt for annuities paid over 30 years. Those who choose the cash option receive a little less. For the Mega Millions jackpot, the winners who choose the cash option would receive $ 550.6 million, while the Powerball winner would take home $ 411.4 million.

The odds of hitting the top prize in both games are tough, with Mega Millions odds of one in 302.5 million, and Powerball odds one in 292.2 million. Both games are played in 45 states as well as Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball is also offered in Puerto Rico.

Megan Tomasic is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, [email protected] or via Twitter .