Jackpots of $1.9 billion up for grabs in two US lotteries
A Powerball drawing for $800 million, one of the largest jackpots in the history of that US lottery game, was held on Monday, ahead of a separate drawing for an even larger prize, $1.1 billion, up for grabs in the Mega Millions sweepstakes.
The Multi-State Lottery Association, which sponsors both games, was expected to announce early on Tuesday whether anyone purchased a ticket bearing the six winning numbers from Monday night’s latest Powerball drawing: 19-7-68-53-11-23.
If a winning ticket were purchased, the lucky player or players holding it could lay claim to a jackpot worth more than $800 million, the sixth-largest Powerball grand prize ever. Should a winner choose to accept it in a single lump sum, the prize carries a cash value of about $385 million, lottery officials said.
Monday’s drawing was the 36th since the last Powerball winner hit the jackpot on New Year’s Day 2024.
Anyone still feeling lucky will have a chance on Tuesday to take a $1.1 billion jackpot in the multistate Mega Millions, the fifth-largest prize in that game’s history.
The Mega Millions drawing will be held at 11 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (0300 GMT on Wednesday). Its jackpot was last won on Dec. 8.
Tickets for both lotteries are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball is also played in Puerto Rico.
Even at $1.9 billion combined, the two purses at stake on Monday and Tuesday were still below the largest single lottery prize total in U.S. history. That came in November 2022 when a lone ticket holder in California won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.
In both lotteries, winner or winners must match the correct six numbers on a $2 ticket.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are listed as one in 292.2 million. The odds of winning the Mega Millions are listed as one in 302.6 million. – Reuters