Home to the latest information and tips about increasing your winning odds in lotteries!
Posted: Friday, Jan 08,2021 | Time: 07:30 am | Edited by: The Lottery Lab Staff
The U.S. Powerball and Mega Millions Jackpot have leaped to sky-high Jackpots of $470 million and $600 million respectively, after no ticket had the winning numbers announced on the 5th and 6th of January 2021 for both the games. The Lottery officials announced that the Jackpot has reached this size only once for Powerball and nearly seven times for Mega Millions in the history of the two games. The next drawing for Powerball is scheduled for Sunday, January 10, and Friday, January 8 for Mega Millions.
Lottery fever is sweeping all across the U.S.! So all you lottery players out there, gear up and grab your winning lottery tickets now! The likelihood of winning the jackpots are 1 in 292,201,338.00, and 1 in 302,575,350 for the respective multi-state lotteries!
On January 18, 2012, Powerball introduced a number of changes to increase the size and frequency of massive jackpots. The basic Powerball ticket price was doubled to $2, while the PowerPlay game rose to $3 from $2. This allowed Powerball to start with a higher minimum jackpot of $40 million. The number of red Powerballs was decreased from 39 to 35 and finally to 26. These changes were all designed to increase the frequency of nine-figure jackpots in the game.
Each Powerball ticket costs $2. For each ticket, the player has to select five distinct numbers from a set of 69 white balls and one number from 26 red ‘Powerballs’. The number of the ‘Powerball’ ball can be the same as one of the first five numbers because it is drawn from a separate number pool from the first five numbers. The winning numbers are selected using two distinct ball machines: one containing the white balls and the other containing the red Powerballs. The machine with 69 white balls draws 5 whites whereas the other machine draws 1 red Powerball for a total of 6 balls. To win the jackpot, you need to match all the six numbers. Even if you don’t win the jackpot, if you match at least 3 white balls and 1 red ball, you win the non-jackpot prizes. When you opt for the PowerPlay feature, which costs $3, your non-jackpot prizes will be multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 10 times!
Powerball also offers a Multi-Draw option that lets you play the same set of numbers in multiple drawings. You simply select the number of consecutive drawings you want to play in the Multi-Draw or Advance Play section of your play slip. Or you can tell your retailer how many drawings you wish to play.
The Drawings for Powerball are held twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday every evening at 10:59 pm ET. You can visit the official website to check out the winning numbers or check the local newspapers and local lottery retailers. To gain an advantage over other players, check out The Lottery Lab for statistical analysis of lotteries.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 biggest jackpots offered by Powerball:
The winning tickets of this jackpot were sold in California, Florida, and Tennessee, making the annuitized prize amount for each winning ticket nearly $528.8 million. The win to this huge prize money was announced on Jan. 13, 2016.
This multi-million-dollar jackpot was won on March 27, 2019, by a single ticket holder in Wisconsin. Before taxes, the winner had a choice between a one-time lump sum of $477 million or an estimated annuity of $768.4 million paid out over 29 years. Nine other lottery tickets too scored $1 or $2 Million as they picked the other winning numbers except for the Powerball.
This winning amount was the largest to be claimed on a single ticket on August 23, 2017. This hefty ticket was sold in Chicopee, Massachusetts to Mavis Wanczyk.
Read more about the scams in lotteries.
There were two winning tickets to this game, Iowa and New York respectively. The win was announced on Oct. 27, 2018. Robert Bailey of New York City claimed half of the winnings and stated he will continue to play the lottery, “until this train runs out”.
The Iowa ticket was won by Lerynne West of Redfield, whose family established a foundation for charity. She wished to buy a car and go for a long vacation after her retirement.
Gloria Mackenzie joined the multimillion-dollar club with this prize. The winning ticket sold in Florida and was claimed on May 18, 2013. To this date, this was the biggest Jackpot in American history to be won by a single person. She chose the lump-sum or one-time cash option as the mode of payoff. Gloria received a payment of about $370 million after the taxes.
Read more on how to calculate taxes over lottery winnings.
Powerball has generated some of the biggest jackpots in the history of US lotteries. Because of this proven track-record, this billion-dollar gamble has become a leading game in gaining people’s interest over time. So, buy your Powerball tickets now and strategize your winning numbers today!
On October 28, 2017, to accommodate public demand for larger jackpots and bigger lower-tier prizes, Mega Millions introduced some structural changes. The reforms raised the prices of tickets from $1 to $2, and the Megaplier to $3. The changes included a drop in the number of white balls, from 75 to 70 that requires matching in any order. And offers 25 numbers to choose for the Mega Ball instead of 15 which is the required ball to win a jackpot. Even the starting jackpot was increased from $15 million to $40 million. The game also came up with an innovative ‘Just The Jackpot’ wager and increased some of the non-jackpot payouts for its players.
In Mega Millions, you have to pick 5 numbers between 1 and 70 (the white balls) and 1 additional number between 1 and 25 (Mega Ball). The first five numbers you choose can be in any order. The additional number you draw is known as the ‘Mega Ball’ and can be the same as one of the first five numbers because it is drawn from a separate number drum. When your selected lottery numbers match the five numbers drawn from the first pool in any order, along with the Mega Ball number that is drawn from the second pool, then you have won a Jackpot!
You can choose your lottery numbers either yourself or use the ‘quick pick’ option, which allows the lottery machine to randomly select the numbers for you. With the ‘Just The Jackpot’ wager that costs $3 per play, you are eligible for winning the jackpot only and not entitled to any lower-tier prizes. This wager is only offered in some states and gives you two chances to win the Jackpot instead of one.
The Megaplier is offered by the majority of the states to increase the Non-Jackpot prizes by 2,3,4 or 5 times. This add-on option costs an additional $1 per play. The Megaplier is drawn before the announcement of the winning numbers of Mega Millions. Lottery officials pick a ball from a drum of 15 balls, in which 5 of them are marked as 2X, 6 with 3X, 3 with 4X, and one with 5X. This means that any Mega Millions non-jackpot prize you win, the amount will be multiplied with the Megaplier number drawn if you have purchased this option.
The Mega Millions winners are drawn every Tuesday and Friday including the holidays, at 11 P.M. E.T. The winning numbers are announced on televisions, newspapers, the lottery-ticket stores, or you can also check out the official app, website, and YouTube Channel of Mega Millions to check out the lottery results. To gain an advantage over other players, check out the Lottery Lab for statistical analysis of lotteries.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 biggest jackpots offered by Mega Millions:
This mega-jackpot created an instant billionaire on October 23, 2018, because only one winning ticket was sold in South Carolina. This Mega Millions Jackpot stands as the highest in world history. The record-making jackpot was claimed on March 5, 2019, with the winner choosing to remain anonymous, under the law.
Read more about anonymity in lotteries.
This massive jackpot had three winning tickets to it. The winners, Merle and Patricia Butler - a couple hailing from Illinois and claimed $218.6 million of the winnings. Three school employees, from Maryland, chose to remain anonymous and claimed their share under the name “The Three Amigos.” The third winner, from Kansas, chose to remain anonymous too.
The winning ticket to this Mega Jackpot was split between Ira Curry of Georgia and Steve Tran of California. Both of them opted for the lump-sum option worth roughly $173 million apiece. To our amazement, Curry picked her winning numbers as a combination of family birthdays and her lucky number seven.
This mega-jackpot produced the fourth-largest jackpot in Mega Millions, which was won by a group of 11 workers in California. Aged between 21 to 60, the players had pitched in $2 in a spur-of-the-moment office pool the day before the drawing. Ronald Reyes claimed the prize on behalf of the group, whereas the other winners were not identified, nor was the company where they work.
This grand jackpot was won by a single ticket holder and stands among the top ten Mega Millions Jackpot. A couple from Hamilton County, Indiana came forward as the winners of the $536 million jackpot.
Mega Millions has produced some of the biggest jackpots in US history. For this reason, this billion-dollar gamble has become a leading game in gaining people’s interest over time. So, buy your Mega Millions tickets now and analyze your winning numbers today at The Lottery Lab.
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