Powerball and Mega Millions Jackpot Fast Facts
A digital image of the Powerball logo and Mega Millions logo in JPEG and EPS formats are available.
Nobody won the jackpot in Tuesday's Mega Millions® drawing, so that giant prize climbs even further, to an estimated $970 million annuity, $716.3 million lump-sum option for the game's drawing on Friday. That is the second-largest prize in the history of the game and the third-largest jackpot ever offered in the United States.
The Powerball® jackpot currently stands at an estimated $730 million annuity, $546 million lump-sum option for its drawing at 9:59 p.m. Wednesday. That is the fourth-largest prize in Powerball history and the fifth-largest U.S. jackpot.
This is the first time the games' jackpots have simultaneously topped the $700 million mark. The record for a lottery prize remains the Powerball jackpot of nearly $1.59 billion that was split in January 2016 by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Tuesday Drawing Details, Iowa Tickets That Won Prizes
The winning numbers in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing were: 10-19-26-28-50 and Mega Ball 16. The Megaplier number was 2.
A total of 35,826 plays purchased by Iowa Lottery players won prizes in Tuesday's drawing.
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $2 million in Mega Millions tickets for Tuesday's drawing, including more than $1 million in tickets on Tuesday alone. Given the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency, those figures are understandably both well down from sales totals during other recent years with giant jackpots.
The average Mega Millions purchase on Tuesday in Iowa remained about $6, or three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that Iowans enjoyed playing at a fun level and didn't go overboard.
Now The 'Longest Roll'
The length of time that a jackpot continues to grow is often referred to as a roll, meaning that it keeps rolling without being hit. Friday's drawing will be the 37th since the Mega Millions jackpot was last won on Sept. 15 with a ticket purchased in Wisconsin. This is now the longest Mega Millions jackpot roll.
Powerball also is on its longest roll. Wednesday's drawing is the 36th since that game's jackpot was last won on Sept. 16 with a ticket purchased in New York.
Easy Pick vs. Your Own Numbers
Nearly 94 percent of the tickets purchased for Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing were easy picks, meaning that the player opted for the lottery terminal to randomly select the numbers involved. There is debate about which option has a better chance of winning: an easy-pick or a ticket where the player chooses the numbers. The answer? The odds are the same for every ticket in the game. There are more easy-pick winners simply because most tickets purchased are easy picks.
What's That About 'Coverage'?
By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations have been purchased for a particular drawing. (The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are about 1 in 292.2 million because there are about 292.2 million ways that the numbers in the game can be combined to make a play. And in Mega Millions, the odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 302.6 million because that's how many ways the numbers in the game can be combined in a play.)
Nearly 30 percent of the combinations had been purchased for the last Powerball drawing (Jan. 16). And, the coverage estimate for Friday's Mega Millions drawing is about 40 percent.
Why Don't You Just Divide It Up?
Lottery officials have received comments from some folks who say that with the jackpots this high, the money should just be divided up among more winners. A couple details about that: Overall sales in the games would appear to demonstrate a different mindset. Sales have always followed the jackpots up, so it seems that a whole bunch of folks do want a chance at a giant prize.
And, the rules in Powerball and Mega Millions don't speak to the jackpots being divided up. Lotteries couldn't just decide to do something different this time around - people have already purchased tickets under the current rules. We do pay attention to input and ideas, though, so we have asked folks to keep up the conversation with us.
For Newcomers (Or Those Needing A Refresher)
Giant jackpots attract the attention of a lot of first-timers and bring occasional players into the mix as well. For players needing a refresher or crash course, the Iowa Lottery keeps how-to-play videos on its website to give everyone the key reminders in just a couple minutes. Here is a direct link to that page: https://www.ialottery.com/Pages/Multimedia/HowToPlay.aspx
General Pointers
The Iowa Lottery offers these general pointers when it comes to buying tickets for the upcoming jackpot drawings:
- Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy tickets for the Mega Millions and Powerball drawings is at 8:59 p.m. the night of the drawing. If you buy a ticket after that deadline, it will be for an upcoming drawing and you won't be in the running for that night's giant prize.
- And, please remember to play responsibly. You only need one ticket to have a chance to win.
- Be safe and continue following social distancing guidelines when you're out and about. Think about buying your tickets if you're already out running errands so you don't have to make a special trip to get them.
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