The jackpots in the two big multi-state lotteries are ... getting up there ... again.
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $743 million, while Saturday's Powerball jackpot has swelled to $600 million. The one-time cash option, should somebody win, are $323.4 million and $266.4 million before taxes respectively.
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is the 10th largest in the 30-year game history. Florida joined it in 2013. Tickets now cost $5. The last time the jackpot was won was on March 17, 2026, when a single ticket purchased in Ohio matched all five white ball numbers and the gold Mega Ball to claim a $60 million prize.
The odds of winning the grand jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336. Two billion-dollar jackpots were won in 2023, including a ticket bought for the Aug. 8 drawing in Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville. A jackpot worth $1.13 billion was won following the March 26, 2024, drawing, in which one winning ticket was sold in New Jersey.
As for Powerball, its jackpot has been growing since May 2, when winning tickets sold in Florida and Texas split a $20 million jackpot. Powerball tickets are $2 each, and there's a 1 in 292,201,338 chance of hitting that prize. Again, you must match five white balls and red Powerball.
Powerball drawings occur every week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, while Mega Millions occurs on Tuesdays and Fridays.
So it begs the question ... Can anybody out there use a few hundred million bucks?
If you're playing — good luck players!
