DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – After a long period of relatively weak prizes, US lottery players now have a range of games offering combined jackpots of over $ 1 billion.
The jackpot for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions draw rose to $ 615 million, and the biggest prize in the Powerball game reached $ 550 million before Wednesday’s draw.
It’s been almost two years since the two national lottery games offered such gigantic prizes, and only a second time have both jackpots exceeded $ 500 million.
The Mega Millions projected grand prize is the eighth largest in US history, and the Powerball jackpot is the 12th in size. Both are still pale compared to the biggest prize, a $ 1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three players in 2016.
Lottery prizes have risen more slowly since the spring of last year, when officials cut guaranteed lows and stopped promising specific increases because the coronavirus slowed sales.
Carole Gentry, a spokeswoman for Maryland Lottery and Gaming, said Monday that the prizes are huge, mainly because it’s been months since anyone won a jackpot. But Gentry also speculated that more people were buying tickets because “it’s something fun to focus on in the new year,” which makes the prizes grow faster.
As fun as the game can be, people should realize that their chances of winning big prizes are incredibly low. The chances 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.
The jackpots promoted by the lotteries also refer to the winners who take an annuity option, in which the prizes are paid for a period of 30 years. Almost all the winners actually opt for the cash option, which for Mega Millions would now be estimated at 451.8 million dollars, and for Powerball is 411.4 million dollars.
Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states, as well as in Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands. Powerball is also offered in Puerto Rico.