6th-largest cash value in game's history

By Todd Northrop

Lottery officials announced today that the jackpot for tonight's Mega Millions drawing has been raised from $432 million to $447 million, as a result of rapid sales.

The Mega Millions jackpot has grown since Sep. 18 and has rolled 31 times, starting at $20 million.

Mega Millions offers two jackpot payment options: the $447 million annuity prize paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual graduated payments, or the cash option, which is $339.6 million. (Before today's jackpot increase the cash value was $329.7 million.)

The huge Mega Millions grand prize comes at a time when Powerball is also reaching stratospheric heights, currently standing at $410 million for Wednesday night's drawing.

"Seeing two drawings with two life-changing jackpots of this size at the same time is exciting," said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. "This is only the third time in the history of these two games that they have simultaneously offered jackpots larger than $400 million."

At $857 million, this is the highest combined jackpot total for Mega Millions and Powerball since October 2018.

Tickets typically remain on sale until around 10:45 pm Eastern Time, although players should check with a lottery retailer in their state for the exact sales cutoff time. (Every state is different.)  Players are strongly advised not to wait until the last minute.

Players looking for a nearby lottery retailer — or that out-of-the-way retailer with a smaller line — are encouraged to use Lottery Places, an 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 retailers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, much of Canada, and the Caribbean.

The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 302 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are 1 in 24.

Mega Millions tickets cost $2 each. For an extra $1 per ticket players can purchase the Megaplier option, which multiplies any non-jackpot won by up to 5 times, depending on the Megaplier number drawn that evening.

The only state that does not offer the Megaplier is California, because state law banning fixed lottery prize amounts is not compatible with the fixed nature of the Megaplier payouts.

Lottery players can see an after-tax analysis of the current Mega Millions jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.

Mega Millions features nine different prize levels, ranging from $2 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Mega Ball number.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

The following list actually shows the top 29 lottery jackpots of all time in order to include this week's Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots, which currently stand as the 21st- and 29th-largest lottery jackpots of all time in the United States.

1. Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
4. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
5. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
6. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
7. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
8. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
9. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
10. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
11. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
13. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
14. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
15. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
16. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
17. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida
19. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
20. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
21. Mega Millions: $447 million, Jan. 5, 2021 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
22. Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Indiana
23. Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
24. Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
25. Mega Millions: $425 million, Jan. 1, 2019 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New York
26. Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 (19 rollovers, starting at $10 million) - Tennessee
27. Mega Millions: $414 million, Jun. 9, 2020 (33 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona
28. Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 (20 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida, Maryland
29. Powerball: $410 million, Jan. 6, 2021 (31 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet

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

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10

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 values, the upcoming Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots respectively rank as the 14th- and 19th-largest cash values in U.S. history.

1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
3. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
4. Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
5. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
6. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
7. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
8. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
9. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
10. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
11. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
12. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
13. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
14. Mega Millions: $339.6 million cash, Jan. 5, 2021 ($447 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
15. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
16. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
17. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
18. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
19. Powerball: $316.4 million cash, Jan. 6, 2021 ($410 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
20. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
21. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
22. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
23. Powerball: $276.5 million cash, Jan. 29, 2020 ($396.9 million annuity) - Florida
24. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
25. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana

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

• Powerball: 15
• Mega Millions: 10