Higher-than-predicted lottery sales boost both major multi-state jackpots

By Kate Northrop

Today, multiple state lotteries announced increases for both the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots driven by higher-than-normal lottery ticket sales.

Thanks to the excitement around the Powerball jackpot that continues to swell with each consecutive rollover, the jackpot amount for the Wed., Jan 5, 2022 Powerball drawing has grown to a whopping $610 million.

The last time a Powerball jackpot grew just as large as the one for tomorrow's draw was in September 2021 when it reached $620 million. That jackpot continued to increase until one person in California won the nearly $700 million prize on Oct. 4. In December, the winner stepped forward to claim the seventh-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.

The Powerball jackpot that is currently up for grabs has been growing ever since the record win, at 39 rollovers to be exact. Now, someone else will have a shot at taking home the swelling jackpot, but it remains to be seen whether it will eventually surpass its predecessor.

With the increase for tomorrow's drawing bumping the jackpot up to $610 million, the cash option would yield a $434.2 million prize.

It is the 11th-largest lottery jackpot in US history, and the 9th-largest cash option ever offered.

Players should note that jackpot amounts are conservative estimates provided by the lotteries and are often somewhat higher by the time the drawing occurs.

Also seeing an increase due to high ticket sales is the Mega Millions jackpot, which has been boosted to a notable $253 million, or $175.6 million with the cash option selected. Since the last jackpot worth $108 million was won on Oct. 22, 2021 by one ticketholder in Arizona, the Mega Millions jackpot has rolled 20 times.

"Both games are off to a great start for 2022, providing the big jackpots that people love to play for," North Carolina Lottery Executive Director Mark Michalko said in a press release. "As you play for the jackpot, remember there are nine ways to win in each drawing, so check your tickets closely. We've seen great prizes won in Monday's Powerball drawing and in Friday's Mega Millions drawing."

Of course, any big winner (or winners) of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot or tonight's Mega Millions jackpot will have to pay taxes on their prize, so website USA Mega has a handy Powerball Jackpot Analysis and Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis available to calculate the federal and state taxes that would be withheld upon payout. The feature calculates both the initial withholdings and the final tax burden due at the end of the year, and even can show taxes calculated for different IRS filing statuses.

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 too, allowing players to bypass the store completely.  States that offer this ability include Michigan (Mega Millions and Powerball), Virginia (Mega Millions and Powerball), Texas (Mega Millions and Powerball), and Oregon (Mega Millions and Powerball).  Note that some of these links will only work properly for residents of the states mentioned.

Players outside the USA can use a reputable butler service, which provides scanned copies of the purchased lottery tickets securely held on behalf of the customer. In the past, the lottery ticket service was used by people out side the USA to win big jackpots in Oregon and Florida.

The winning Powerball numbers for Monday, January 3, 2022 were 2, 13, 32, 33, and 48 with Powerball number 22.  The Power Play number was 2.

The Monday Double Play drawing results were 4, 19, 26, 64, and 65 with Powerball number 16. Double Play is a new game option currently available in 13 states that lets you play your numbers in a second drawing for $1 per play, with a chance to win up to $10 million in cash. See How to Play Powerball at USA Mega for more information about Double Play.

The winning Mega Millions numbers for Friday, December 31, 2021 were 2, 5, 30, 46, and 61 with Mega Ball 8. The Megaplier number was 3.

Even though nobody won the Powerball jackpot Monday, 3 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Montana, 1 from Connecticut, and 1 from Texas.

The one ticket sold in Montana purchased the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play, doubling their prize to $2 million.

When a Powerball ticket is purchased with the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket, a second-prize win is doubled and any other non-jackpot prize is multiplied by the Power Play number drawn that evening. A complete list of prizes available for matching various numbers can be found on the Powerball Drawing Detail page at USA Mega, as well as on the Powerball Prize Payouts and the Powerball Double Play Prize Payouts pages at Lottery Post.

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

Also in the Monday Powerball drawing, 35 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Powerball and won $50,000, and 5 of those tickets were sold in California, where the prize was worth $25,652 this drawing.  8 of the other tickets were purchased with the Power Play option, increasing the prize to $150,000.

Following the Monday drawing and the increase today, the Powerball annuity jackpot estimate was raised $48.7 million from its previous amount of $561.3 million and the cash value was raised by $49.9 million from its previous amount of $384.3 million.

The next Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night at 10:59 pm Eastern Time, while the next Mega Millions drawing will take place tonight at 11:00 pm Eastern Time.

Mega Millions and Powerball tickets are $2 per play and can be purchased at lottery retailers in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Mega Millions is not offered in Puerto Rico.)

Powerball and Mega Millions lottery results are published within minutes of the drawing at USA Mega (www.usamega.com).  The USA Mega Web site provides lottery players in-depth information about the United States's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball.

Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time

Wednesday's Powerball jackpot currently stands as the 11th-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States, and the 7th-largest Powerball jackpot ever.  Brisk sales may push the jackpot estimate higher by draw time.

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. Mega Millions: $1.05 billion, Jan. 22, 2021 (36 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Michigan
4. Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Wisconsin
5. Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Massachusetts
6. Powerball: $731.1 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Maryland
7. Powerball: $699.8 million, Oct. 4, 2021 (40 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - California
8. Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Iowa, New York
9. Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 (18 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
10. Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 (21 rollovers, starting at $12 million) - California, Georgia
11. Powerball: $610 million, Jan 5, 2022 (39 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
12. Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Florida
13. Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Arizona, Missouri
14. Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
15. Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
16. Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 (22 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
17. Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 (34 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Indiana
18. Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Jersey
19. Mega Millions: $522 million, Jun. 7, 2019 (24 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California
20. Mega Millions: $516 million, May 21, 2021 (26 rollovers, starting at $20 million) - Pennsylvania
21. Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - New Hampshire
22. Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Pennsylvania
23. Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 (23 rollovers, starting at $15 million) - Florida
24. Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
25. Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) - California

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 value, the upcoming Powerball jackpot ranks as the 8th-largest cash value 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. Mega Millions: $776.6 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021 ($1.05 billion annuity) - Michigan
4. Powerball: $546.8 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021 ($731.1 million annuity) - Maryland
5. Powerball: $496 million cash, Oct. 4, 2021 ($699.8 million annuity) - California
6. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
7. Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019 ($768.4 million annuity) - Wisconsin
8. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
9. Powerball: $434.2 million cash, Jan. 5, 2022 ($610 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
10. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018 ($687.8 million annuity) - Iowa, New York
11. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
12. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
13. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
14. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
15. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
16. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
17. Mega Millions: $349.3 million cash, May 21, 2021 ($516 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
18. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019 ($522 million annuity) - California
19. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
20. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
21. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
22. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 ($414 million annuity) - Arizona
23. Mega Millions: $314.4 million cash, Sep. 21, 2021 ($431 million annuity) - New York
24. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
25. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida

The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:

• Powerball: 13
• Mega Millions: 12