Mega Millions Passes $1B as Powerball Hits $800M

After drawings this weekend for both lottery games failed to produce a winning ticket, Mega Millions and Powerball continued their steady marches into mend-bendingly large jackpot numbers.

On Saturday night, the Powerball jackpot rolled over yet again and now stands at an estimated $800 million, with its next drawing Monday, March 25

Likewise, the Mega Millions drawing on Friday night failed to produce a winner and the jackpot swelled beyond the billion-dollar barrier. Only five previous Mega Millions jackpots have hit that mark.

• Mega Millions: $1.1 billion estimated jackpot, next drawing Tuesday, March 26.

• Powerball: $800 million estimated jackpot, next drawing Monday, March 25.

This year now has its first billion-dollar-plus jackpot, a mark that has become more common in recent years. Powerball had a $1.765 billion jackpot (won by a single ticket) as recently as October 2023.

Powerball and Mega Millions tickets are sold for $2 apiece in 45 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• To play Mega Millions, pick five numbers between 1 and 70, and a sixth number between 1 and 25. If you don’t want to pick the numbers yourself, you can get a set of numbers generated for you.

• To play Powerball, pick five numbers between 1 and 69 and a Powerball number from 1 to 26 (or have them randomly generated).

The current jackpot is estimated at $1.1 billion.

Winners can opt to take their winnings in the form of an annuity or as a single lump sum, known as the cash option. The cash option for the current jackpot is estimated at $525.8 million.

By taking the annuity option, the winner would get the full jackpot advertised by Mega Millions, but it would be spread out in payments over 30 years.

No matter how lucky you are, you won’t get around paying taxes on a lottery jackpot. After mandatory federal income tax withholding, you’d have just shy of $400 million if you took the cash option. How much more you’d pay come tax time can depend on where you bought the ticket — and where you live, if that’s another state. To prepare, make sure you know the ins and outs of how the lottery works.

• The winning numbers will be drawn Tuesday, March 26 at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.

• If there’s still no jackpot winner, the grand prize will continue to grow.

• The odds of winning the jackpot are roughly 1 in 303 million.

The current jackpot is estimated at $800 million.

Like Mega Millions, winners of Powerball can choose between an annuity that pays out over 30 years or a single lump sum. The cash option for the current jackpot is $384.8 million. After mandatory federal taxes, the holder of a single winning ticket would keep about $292.5 million, minus any state taxes.

• The winning numbers will be drawn Monday, March 25 at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.

• If there’s still no jackpot winner, the grand prize will continue to grow.

• The odds of winning the jackpot are roughly 1 in 292 million.

The jackpot isn’t the only way to win. Both games have prizes for ticket holders whose chosen numbers match the drawing in a variety of combinations.