The combined jackpots of the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries stand at a whopping $1.9bn as of Sunday, prompting people across the US to get their tickets and try their luck.
After zero perfect matches in drawings over the weekend, the estimated jackpot of the Powerball is now at $800m, while that of the Mega Millions is at $1.1bn.
In a statement released on Sunday, Powerball said that its current jackpot was “quickly climbing the rankings as one of the game’s largest”. With the $800m scheduled for Monday evening, the jackpot has been marked as the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history. The jackpot’s cash value is at an estimated $384.8m.
Powerball officials said Sunday’s prize was the second advertised jackpot to reach $800m this year. On 1 January, a ticket in Michigan won the previous Powerball jackpot, which was worth $842.4m.
Since then, there have been 35 consecutive drawings without a single winner, Powerball said.
With Powerball tickets sold at $2 per play in 45 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, the odds of winning the game’s jackpot are 1 in 292.9m.
Mega Millions issued a similar statement, saying on Saturday that “for the sixth time in less than six years”, the jackpot has topped $1bn. The next drawing is set for Tuesday. The jackpot’s cash value is approximately $525.8m. If the jackpot is won on Tuesday, it would be the fifth largest prize in the history of the game, Mega Millions said.
The last Mega Millions jackpot was won by two tickets on 8 December and was worth $394m.
“Lottery fever continues to spread throughout the country,” Gretchen Corbin of the Mega Millions Consortium said.
Corbin added: “Large jackpots provide entertainment and winnings for our players nationwide, while contributing to the beneficiary programs funded by each lottery. We appreciate our players and dedicated retailers, and we encourage everyone to play responsibly.”
Like the Powerball, Mega Millions tickets are also sold for $2 each in 45 states, Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6m.
