Idaho ends Powerball in state, fearing foreign participation
Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson addresses the House State Affairs Committee at the Statehouse in Boise, Idaho on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The panel killed legislation that would have allowed the Powerball game with multi-million dollar jackpots to continue in the state. (AP Photo/Keith Ridler)BOISE, Idaho โ Idaho lawmakers fearing foreign participation in the Powerball lottery killed legislation on Wednesday that would have allowed the game with huge jackpots to continue in the state after a run of more than 30 years. The move came after Idaho Lottery officials sought a change in state law because Powerball is expanding to include Australia in 2021 and Britain in 2022. Some Idaho lawmakers said they feared that the odds of an Idaho resident winning would be reduced with more players.
$1B Mega Millions prize a result of long odds, slow sales
Itโs only the third time a lottery jackpot has grown so large, but much has changed since the last time such a big prize was up for grabs in 2018. After a peak in October 2018, Medenica said sales of the big lottery games dropped about 50%, prompting talk among lottery officials about jackpot fatigue. Sales of Mega Millions and Powerball continued to decline after the virus hit along with other lottery games, but while scratch tickets and other instant games rebounded strongly later in the year, national game sales remained moribund. By design, Mega Millions and Powerball are relatively generous in awarding small dollar prizes and lottery officials boast there is a roughly one in 24 chance of winning something. Itโs hard to fathom how unlikely it is to beat odds of one in 292.2 million for Powerball or one in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.
Hard-luck Maryland town gets a $731.1 million Powerball win
Just who will collect the Powerball prize may never be known: Maryland is one of the states that allow winners to remain anonymous. The Powerball jackpot came only a day after nobody won the $970 million Mega Millions prize, the third-largest prize in U.S. history. The biggest prize was a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016. Most winners opt for cash prizes, which for Mega Millions would be $716.3 million and $546.8 million for Wednesday's Powerball. After the Powerball win, the new jackpot has a $15 million cash value.
Mega Millions jackpot now $865M; Powerball up to $730M
The Mega Millions top prize climbed to an estimated $865 million, the biggest jackpot in more than two years. The winning numberโs in Tuesday nightโs Mega Millions drawing were: 10-19-26-28-50 and a Mega Ball of 16. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since Sept. 15, allowing the prize to grow larger and larger over four months. Winners almost always opt for cash prizes, which for Mega Millions would be $638.8 million and $546 million for Powerball. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball jackpot grows to $730M; Mega Millions to be $850M
Blank forms for the Powerball lottery sit in a bin at a local grocery store, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. No one beat the odds in Friday's Mega Millions drawing, so that jackpot grew to an estimated $850 million. It's been nearly two years since a lottery jackpot has grown so large. The estimated cash prize for the next Mega Millions jackpot is $628.2 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
No winner of Mega Millions $750M; Powerball drawing Saturday
DES MOINES, Iowa โ One of the largest jackpots in U.S. history will grow even larger since there was no winner for Fridayโs drawing of the Mega Millionsโ $750 million top prize. Mega Millions estimated its next top prize would be $850 million, which would be the third-largest of all time. Lottery players still have a chance to win big with Saturday's drawing for a $640 million Powerball top prize, the eighth-largest jackpot. The estimated cash prize for the next Mega Millions jackpot is $628.2 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots grow to combined $1.39B
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, file photo, a customer shows off a Mega Millions lottery ticket after purchasing it, in Orlando, Fla. The next drawing for Mega Millions is Friday night, when a $750 million prize will be up for grabs. The next Mega Millions drawing is Friday night, when an estimated $750 million prize will be up for grabs. The drawing for an estimated $640 million Powerball jackpot will be Saturday night. Your odds of winning either jackpot is exceedingly small, at 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.
Powerball jackpot hits $640M as Mega Millions grows to $750M
A billboard advertises the jackpots of the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Numbers for Wednesday nightโs Powerball drawing were: 4-19-23-25-49 and a Powerball of 14. The Powerball prize drawing was only a day after no one won a $625 million Mega Millions jackpot, causing that prize to grow to $750 million ahead of the next drawing on Friday night. The Mega Millions prize is now the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball jackpot hits $550M as Mega Millions grows to $750M
A billboard advertises the jackpots of the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Winning numbers for Wednesday nightโs Powerball drawing were: 4-19-23-25-49 and a Powerball of 14. The Powerball prize drawing comes only a day after no one won a $625 million Mega Millions jackpot, causing that prize to grow to $750 million ahead the next drawing on Friday night. The Mega Millions prize is now the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Mega Millions $625M jackpot largest in nearly 2 years
The Mega Millions $625 million jackpot is the largest lottery prize in nearly two years. The winning numbers in Tuesday nightโs drawing of the Mega Millions game were: 12-14-26-28-33, Mega Ball: 09. Nearly all jackpot winners actually take the cash option, which would be an estimated $458.8 million for Mega Millions and $411.4 million for Powerball. They're even steeper for Mega Millions, at one in 302.5 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
No more puny prizes: Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots soar
A digital billboard in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, shows jackpots for the Mega Millions and Powerball games. Lottery players have a chance to win the largest jackpots in nearly two years as Mega Millions has grown to $600 million and Powerball has climbed to $550 million. The projected Mega Millions grand prize is the eighth largest in U.S. history, and the Powerball jackpot is the 12th biggest. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million, and the chances are even worse for Mega Millions at one in 302.5 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Are you jerking my bobber? Friends share Powerball jackpot win, keeping 1992 promise
Friends Tom Cook and Joseph Feeney shook hands in 1992 and promised that if either one of them ever won the Powerball jackpot, they would split the money. That promise came to fruition last month when Cook bought the winning ticket for a $22 million jackpot at Synergy Coop in Menomonie. Cook retired after hitting the jackpot while Feeney was already retired. The men chose the cash option of about $16.7 million, leaving each with nearly $5.7 million after taxes are paid. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in about 292 million.
Theres an unclaimed $1 Million Powerball ticket in Texas and it expires next month
EL PASO, Texas Theres roughly a month left for one lucky Powerball winner to claim their $1 million prize. A winning ticket for the Jan. 25 Powerball drawing will expire soon and the winner will forfeit the $1 million prize if it has not been claimed by July 23. A press release from the Texas Lottery says the winning ticket matched all five white-ball numbers, 2-9-17-36-67, but not the Powerball number, 18. The ticket holder must claim the prize by 5 p.m. on July 23 at a claim center by requesting an appointment online at www.txlottery.org or by calling 800-375-6886. Walk-in claims will not be accepted and unscheduled claimants will not be admitted into any Texas Lottery facility, due to COVID-19, according to the press release.
Man hit the Powerball jackpot twice in the same day, after playing the exact same numbers for 30 years
Colorado โ After 30 years of playing the same set of numbers, one man finally won big. The tickets, bought at separate places, were for the same set of numbers: 5-9-27-39-42. The Colorado man has been playing that same set of numbers for 30 years. Earlier this year, a man in Delaware accidentally bought two of the same Powerball tickets, resulting in a $100,000 win before taxes. She also mistakenly bought two Powerball tickets with the same number, and -- exactly like "Joe B" -- won two $1 million prizes.