Powerball jackpot simultaneously offers massive wealth

By Todd Northrop

For the eighth time in history a lottery jackpot has grown to more than a billion dollars.

Last night nobody won the Mega Millions multi-state lottery drawing, triggering another jackpot rollover that created a Tuesday jackpot estimated at $1.1 billion with a cash value of $525.8 million.

Based on past multi-state lottery jackpots, that estimate may get a lot bigger by the time the drawing kicks off Tuesday night, as people dreaming of becoming the next billionaire cause lottery ticket sales go through the roof.

To get to this massive size, the jackpot has been growing since it started on Dec. 12 as a $20 million prize — now 30 consecutive drawings without a winner.

Tuesday's billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot is the 5th-largest in the game's history, and the 8th-largest lottery jackpot in world history among all lottery games. The lump-sum cash value of $525.8 million is the 11th-largest on the all-time lottery jackpot cash value rankings.

One twist making this Mega Millions jackpot run special is that Powerball is simultaneously surging to massive heights. Saturday's $750 million Powerball jackpot is currently ranked as the 15th-largest lottery jackpot of all time, and its cash value of $360.8 million is the 24th-largest in history.

Both games are shown below on the top 25 annuity and cash value lottery jackpots of all time.

The largest lottery jackpot ever awarded was on Nov. 7, 2022, when one ticket sold in California won a $2 billion grand prize.  The incredibly lucky winner was Edwin Castro, who claimed the prize in February of 2023, providing minimal public information about himself.  What little is known about Castro comes from public filings, and includes the purchase of a house or two, as well as being the subject of dubious lawsuits that are unfortunately predictable these days.

And just this month, Theodorus Struyck was named the representative of a group of California lottery players who claimed a massive $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot won last October.

Lottery players dreaming what that $1.1 billion jackpot (or the $525.8 million cash value) will look like in their bank account after federal and state taxes are taken out can see an after-tax analysis of the current Mega Millions jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis page.

The rush of ticket sales over the next few days likely will propel the jackpot to an even higher amount before the drawing takes place Tuesday. Lottery Post and USA Mega will update the jackpot tallies displayed if such an increase occurs.

The quickest way to find the winning numbers after the drawing Tuesday will be by visiting USA Mega (www.usamega.com) at 11:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 pm Pacific), when the winning numbers will be published minutes after they are drawn.

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, the only app for iOS, Android, and Windows that can locate the nearest lottery retailers in every jurisdiction that sells Powerball and Mega Millions. The helpful app can locate lottery stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, much of Canada, and the Caribbean.

Some states offer direct online sales, allowing players to bypass the store and purchase tickets from home. Players can see if they can play Mega Millions online by tapping the link. Depending on the physical location of the person, the link will either provide access via a licensed butler service or the official state lottery itself.

Similarly, people can purchase Powerball tickets online using a legitimate licensed butler service or the official state lottery that the link directs to.

Butler services provide scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, such lottery ticket services were used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

In Friday night's Mega Millions drawing, there was no jackpot winner, but 6 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from California, 1 from Florida, 1 from Illinois, 1 from Nebraska, 1 from Texas, and 1 from Virginia.

Only one of the second-prize tickets sold in Virginia was purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1 per play, multiplying that player's prize to a whopping $3 million, since the Megaplier number drawn was 3. Unlike the Powerball game, Mega Millions applies its multiplier to the second prize.

The only state not offering the Megaplier option is California, because the fixed nature of the prize increase offered with the Megaplier is not compatible with California's pari-mutuel payouts. By law, California awards all lottery prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold within California and the number of tickets that won at each prize level in the state.

The California second-prize winner will take home a bit smaller of a prize than the other states this time — $736,435 — but last drawing a California winner won a $1,748,612 prize. So the pari-mutuel payouts can cut both ways.

A total of 80 tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win a $10,000 prize. Of those tickets, 12 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 5 were sold in California, where the prize awarded this drawing is $20,405.

A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers as well as the official drawing video can be found on the Mega Millions Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Mega Millions Prize Payouts page at Lottery Post.

The Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, March 22, 2024, were 3, 8, 31, 35, and 44, with Mega Ball number 16. The Megaplier number was 3.

Following the Friday drawing, the Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate was raised $123 million from its previous amount of $977 million. The cash value was raised by $58.8 million from its previous amount of $467 million.

Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Tuesdays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot currently stands as the 8th-largest lottery jackpot of all time, and the 5th-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever. Brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

The current Powerball jackpot is also highlighted, as it reached #15 on the list after nobody won the top prize in the Wednesday drawing.

1. Powerball: $2.0401 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
2. Powerball: $1.7649 billion, Oct. 11, 2023 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
3. Mega Millions: $1.602 billion, Aug. 8, 2023 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Florida
4. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
5. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
6. Mega Millions: $1.348 billion, Jan. 13, 2023 (25 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maine
7. Mega Millions: $1.337 billion, Jul. 29, 2022 (29 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Illinois
8. Mega Millions: $1.1 billion, Mar. 26, 2024 (30 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
9. Powerball: $1.0798 billion, Jul. 19, 2023 (38 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
10. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
11. Powerball: $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (34 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
12. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
13. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
14. Powerball: $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Washington
15. Powerball: $750 million, Mar. 23, 2024 (33 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
16. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
17. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
18. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
19. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
20. Mega Millions: $648 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
21. Powerball: $632.6 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California, Wisconsin
22. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
23. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
24. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
25. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire

For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 17
• Mega Millions: 8

Top 25 cash value jackpots

Since many lottery winners collect their winnings in cash, the lump-sum payout is an important measure of what a winning ticket could be worth.

Looking at the cash value, the upcoming Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 11th-largest cash value in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $997.6 million cash, Nov. 7, 2022 ($2.0401 billion annuity) - California
2. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
3. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
4. Mega Millions: $794.2 million cash, Aug. 8, 2023 ($1.602 billion annuity) - Florida
5. Mega Millions: $780.5 million cash, Jul. 29, 2022 ($1.337 billion annuity) - Illinois
6. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
7. Powerball: $774.1 million cash, Oct. 11, 2023 ($1.7649 billion annuity) - California
8. Mega Millions: $723.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2023 ($1.348 billion annuity) - Maine
9. Powerball: $558.1 million cash, Jul. 19, 2023 ($1.0798 billion annuity) - California
10. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
11. Mega Millions: $525.8 million cash, Mar. 26, 2024 ($1.1 billion annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
12. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
13. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
14. Powerball: $477 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
15. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
16. Powerball: $450.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($632.6 million annuity) - California, Wisconsin
17. Powerball: $425.2 million cash, Jan. 1, 2024 ($842.4 million annuity) - Michigan
18. Powerball: $407.2 million cash, Feb. 6, 2023 ($754.6 million annuity) - Washington
19. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
20. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
21. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
22. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
23. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
24. Powerball: $360.8 million cash, Mar. 23, 2024 ($750 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
25. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire

The number of cash value jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 17
• Mega Millions: 8