Tag Archives: Lotteries

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Mega Millions jackpot: Mega Millions draws numbers for $1.35 billion jackpot — 2nd largest in history — on Friday

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CNN
 — 

Friday the 13th might end up being someone’s lucky day. The Mega Millions jackpot has reached an estimated $1.35 billion – the second-largest in the lottery’s history – for the drawing set on Friday.

The jackpot soared from $1.1 billion after Tuesday night’s drawing when no winner snagged the big prize, the lottery said in a news release Wednesday.

The estimated jackpot ($707.9 million in cash) is surpassed only by the lottery’s record of $1.537 billion won in South Carolina in 2018, the lottery said.

“Now at $1.35 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is moving up and making history as the second highest Mega Millions jackpot ever,” the lottery said. “Our member lotteries raise funds for many good causes, ranging from education to conservation programs. We’re proud to support these efforts.”

The Mega Millions’ massive jackpot topped the billion-dollar mark after nearly three months without a winning ticket drawn.

The last jackpot was won at $502 million on October 14, when there were two winning tickets from California and Florida, the Mega Millions said. Since then, more than 33 million winning tickets have been sold, including 68 players who took home $1 million or more, the lottery added.

There have been six previous jackpots won on Friday the 13th – and four of them were in Michigan, the release said. Prizes have also been won on Friday the 13th in New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.

Mona Rawal owns the 7-Eleven in Fort Myers, Florida, where in October 2022 one of the two winning Mega Millions tickets was sold with a jackpot of nearly half a billion dollars. The lucky ticket sale came less than a month after the area was hard hit by Hurricane Ian.

She can’t say if her store is lucky or not but tells CNN that one of her customers won $50,000 a few weeks ago and another won $1,000 last week. She hopes that luck continues with the Mega Millions drawing Friday night. Lottery ticket sales have been steady this week at her store, she told CNN, and she expects lots of last-minute lottery customers to head to her store as the 11 p.m. drawing nears.

Jim Frye, who plays the Powerball and Mega Millions every week but has never won “anything big,” said he played at Rawal’s 7-Eleven because he heard about the winning ticket in October.

“I say you can’t win if you don’t play, that’s my motto, and I’ve been playing for a long time,” Frye told CNN. “Let’s wait to see if I win first and then I’ll decide what I’m going to do with it. It’ll help a lot of people that’s for sure.”

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, along with the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands.

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Mega Millions jackpot is $1.1 billion. How to plan for sharing it

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If you’ve never had family or friends hit you up for money, that is likely to change if you were to win the $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

The grand prize has been climbing through twice-weekly drawings since mid-October, with no ticket matching all six numbers drawn to land the grand prize. This marks the fourth time the game’s jackpot has passed $1 billion, and if won at this level it would be the fifth-largest lottery jackpot ever.

Of course, the advertised $1.1 billion is what you’d get if you were to choose to take your winnings as an annuity spread over three decades. The lump-sum cash option — which most jackpot winners choose instead — is $568.7 million.

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While a chunk of your winnings would go to taxes, the amount you’d end up with after those levies would be more than most people see in a lifetime. It also may make you a target for people who want a piece of your newfound wealth, experts say.

Of course, not everyone will be preying on you, said Emily Irwin, managing director of advice and planning at Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. “But … you never know what’s going to happen.”

When “the inevitable asking for money occurs,” she said, “how can you make sure you feel comfortable saying yes or no?”

Here are some tips to head off trouble.

Share the news with as few people as possible

If you manage to beat the odds stacked against a single ticket hitting the jackpot — the chance of hitting the motherlode is about 1 in 302.6 million — one of the most important things to do is share the news with as few people as possible.

“It’s hard for even your inner circle of people not to say anything,” said certified financial planner Susan Bradley, founder of the Sudden Money Institute in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

If you can shield your identity from the public, that can help minimize who finds out and protect you from random strangers hoping to get a piece of your winnings. Some states allow you to claim anonymously, while in others you may be able to set up a legal entity — for example, a trust — that claims the windfall, thereby shielding your name from the public.

Create a plan for how and when to donate

Before you even claim your prize, you should set up a team of professionals to help you navigate your new wealth. This group should include at least an experienced attorney, financial advisor and tax advisor.

One thing you can think about during this pre-claiming phase, with the guidance of your team, is whether and how you want to use some of the winnings to benefit others.

Pichai Pipatkuldilok / Eyeem | Eyeem | Getty Images

Some jackpot winners tap their philanthropic side by either setting up a private foundation or using other tax-advantaged ways to make charitable contributions. If you determine from the start which causes you want to support — say, protecting the environment or battling hunger — it can make it easier and more rewarding to use those charitable dollars, experts say.

You also could determine a yearly limit to what you give away, whether to charities or individuals.

Set up boundaries for money going to family, friends

For sharing with family and friends, you also should set up parameters, Irwin said.

“I think it’s helpful to think about under what terms you would gift money,” Irwin said. “Are you now the bank for family?

“If there’s a catastrophic event, will you be there?” she added. “If someone wants to start a business, would you be giving them seed money, or is it a loan?”

The benefit of establishing a plan, Irwin said, is that it can “eliminate feelings of guilt when you say no to individuals or organizations.”

Moreover, without boundaries, she said, “you could be in a position where you’re running through funds at an accelerated rate … and finding yourself saying yes more often than you wish.”

Additionally, keep in mind that some gifts come with “carrying costs” that need to be considered, Irwin said. For example, if you were to purchase an expensive home for yourself and each of your four siblings, those properties may come with ongoing, outsized bills and maintenance costs that you may be expected to cover.

Most importantly, winning hundreds of millions of dollars would be a chance to create long-term financial stability for you and loved ones if you approach it with foresight.

“Take care of yourself first and your family first,” Irwin said. “Make sure you don’t make decisions that could unduly harm your own balance sheet and comfort.”

Meanwhile, Powerball’s jackpot for Monday night’s drawing is $340 million (the cash option is $178.2 million). The chance of hitting Powerball’s top prize is a tad better than in Mega Millions: 1 in 292 million.

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Mega Millions jackpot tops $1 billion after Friday’s drawing yields no winners

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CNN
 — 

The Mega Millions jackpot has jumped to more than $1 billion after Friday night’s drawing ended without an overall winner.

This marks the fourth time in a little over four years that the top prize has exceeded $1 billion, Mega Millions said in a release Friday.

Friday’s drawing ended with numbers 3, 20, 46, 59, 63 and the gold Mega Ball 13.

The jackpot is now an estimated $1.1 billion ($568.7 million cash), according to the lottery. If someone wins at that amount, it would be the third largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, it said.

The next drawing will be on Tuesday, January 10.

The only Mega Millions jackpots higher than Tuesday’s $1.1 billion are the record $1.537 billion won in South Carolina in 2018 and the $1.337 billion won in Illinois last year, the release said.

But not everyone was a loser Friday night. There were more that 4 million winning tickets at other prize levels, ranging from $2 to $1 million, the lottery said. Five tickets snagged the $1 million prize by matching all five white balls, with winners in New York, Florida, Maryland and New Jersey.

More than 27 million winning tickets have been sold in the 24 drawings since the jackpot was last won October 14, 2022, according to Mega Millions.

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Mega Millions jackpot soars to nearly $1 billion after no winner in Tuesday night’s drawing

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CNN
 — 

There was no winner Tuesday in the first Mega Millions drawing of 2023, which means the next drawing on Friday will be worth $940 million, according to the lottery.

The winning numbers for Tuesday’s drawing were 25, 29, 33, 41, 44 with a Mega Ball of 18, according to the Mega Millions website. No ticket matched all six winning numbers, bringing Friday’s cash prize to an estimated $483.5 million

“In more than 20 years since the game began in 2002, there have been just three larger jackpots than Friday’s estimated prize,” the Mega Millions said in a news release.

Tuesday’s drawing featured nearly 3 million winning tickets for prizes ranging from $2 up to $4 million, the lottery said. Six tickets matched the first five numbers, winning the lottery’s second-highest prize of $1 million each, the lottery said.

The largest jackpot in history was $1.537 billion, scored by one outrageously lucky winner in 2018.

The last jackpot was won in October, and the number of winning tickets at all prize levels has been growing across the country, the lottery said.

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Mega Millions drawing produces no winner, jackpot grows to $785 million

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CNN
 — 

There was no jackpot winner in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, which means the top prize will rise to an estimated $785 million dollars on Tuesday night.

The numbers drawn Friday were 1, 3, 6, 44, 51 and the Mega Ball was 7.

One player in Ohio matched the five white balls Friday night, taking home a $1 million prize.

The game’s top prize of $1.537 billion was won in 2018, and in July 2022, a winner in Illinois picked all six numbers for $1.337 billion.

Tuesday’s jackpot would be the fourth-largest in the game’s history.

A winner choosing annuity payments over 29 years would receive $785 million, while a winner choosing the cash option would receive $395 million, according to lottery officials.

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Powerball: A single winning ticket for the $2.04 billion jackpot was sold in California

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CNN
 — 

A lone winning ticket for the record $2.04 billion Powerball lottery jackpot was sold in Altadena, California, lottery officials said Tuesday, making the lucky ticket holder the winner of the largest lottery prize ever.

The ticket was sold at a Joe’s Service Center, the California Lottery said on Twitter. Results posted to Powerball.com similarly said there was one winner who matched all six numbers in California – the odds of which were 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.

The winning numbers, which were announced Tuesday morning after Monday night’s drawing was delayed, were 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10, according to the association.

And while you likely weren’t the jackpot winner, lotteries are urging players to check their tickets on the chance you won one of the other – albeit smaller – prizes: Per the Multi-State Lottery Association, more than 11.2 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $98.1 million, including 22 tickets that won $1 million prizes for matching the five white numbers but not the Powerball.

The jackpot was a record $1.9 billion but grew to $2.04 billion by the time of the drawing, the association said in a statement, “making it the world’s largest lottery prize” – just as its organizers intended when they changed the odds in 2015.

In fact, the jackpot was so large that California lottery officials didn’t have the appropriate signage: At the gas station where the winning ticket was sold, just northeast of Los Angeles, they taped a “B” onto signs that read, “Millionaire made here,” so they would instead read, “Billionaire made here.”

The winner has yet to come forward, said Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California lottery, adding, “Somebody is holding on to a very important piece of paper this morning.”

The ticket did, however, make one millionaire: Joseph Chahayed, the owner of the gas station, was awarded his own $1 million for being the retailer who sold the winning ticket.

Chahayed, who came to the US from Syria in 1980 with his wife and two children, told reporters he arrived at the gas station Tuesday morning to find California lottery officials waiting for him.

“They said, ‘Congratulations, your station sent a winner,’” he said, adding he hoped the winner lived in the neighborhood. The grandfather of 11 also said he was happy the lottery benefited California schools.

The announcement of a winner Tuesday came after officials delayed the drawing Monday night, due to what the Multi-State Lottery Association called a “technical issue.”

The association initially said overnight the delay was caused when one participating lottery needed more time to process its sales and play data, echoing an earlier statement by the California Lottery, which said one lottery needed additional time to complete the necessary security protocols.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Lottery announced its sales verification system caused a processing delay, prompting the postponement of the drawing.

“The delay was necessary to confirm the Powerball drawing could be conducted securely and accurately,” the Minnesota Lottery release said. “At no time was the integrity of the process compromised.”

All 48 participating lotteries are required to submit their sales and plays before the winning numbers can be selected, the Multi-State Lottery Association said in a statement overnight. “Powerball has stringent security requirements to protect the integrity of the game and remains committed to holding a drawing that gives all players a fair chance to win,” the association said.

“Like the rest of America, Powerball is eager to hold its drawing for the world record jackpot,” the association said in a follow-up statement Tuesday morning before the drawing, “however, protecting the integrity of the draw is of upmost importance, even if that means a further delay,” the statement early Tuesday said, urging players to hold on to their tickets.

According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, Tuesday’s jackpot was hit on the 41st draw of the run, marking the sixth time the Powerball jackpot was hit in 2022. The last Powerball jackpot was won on August 3 in Pennsylvania.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever won was in January 2016, when three winners split a prize advertised at $1.586 billion. Each took their share of the cash value, which added up to $983.5 million.

Powerball draws take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.

Powerball is played by charging $2 per ticket and having players choose five white balls between the numbers 1 to 69 and a red Powerball from the numbers 1 to 26. If a player gets all six numbers correct, they win the massive jackpot.

The odds of winning the jackpot by matching all 5 numbers and the Powerball number are one in 292.2 million.

Prior to 2015, though, the white balls were numbered 1 to 59 and the Powerball was numbered 1 to 35. The change means that now gamblers have better odds of winning small prizes but worse odds of winning the jackpot, making it more likely that the big number will grow to record sizes.



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The drawing for the record $1.9 billion Powerball jackpot has been delayed over security protocols

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CNN
 — 

The California Lottery announced late Monday night that it’s delaying the Powerball drawing because officials need more time to complete security protocols.

The delay is caused by one participating lottery that needs more time to process its sales, the Multi-State Lottery Commission told CNN in a statement. The drawing is still planned to occur after that procedure is completed.

Earlier, the California Lottery said, “Powerball has strict security requirements that must be met by all 48 lotteries before a drawing can occur,” adding that a participating lottery needs extra time to meet those requirements before the drawing can be conducted.

“When the required security protocols are complete, the drawing will be performed under the supervision of lottery security officials and independent auditors. Winning numbers will be posted as soon as they are available,” the California Lottery said.

In a following update, the California Lottery said the delay was still in effect as of early Tuesday morning due to an issue in another state.

“It is not due to any delays at the California Lottery. There is currently no estimated time for the drawing,” said the California Lottery, adding winning numbers will be posted on its Twitter account and website when they are available.

The delay for the highly anticipated drawing comes as the Powerball lottery jackpot has swelled to $1.9 billion Monday, according to the California Lottery, making it the largest lotto prize ever offered – just as its organizers intended when they changed the odds in 2015.

There were no winning tickets sold for Saturday’s drawing of an estimated $1.6 billion, already the highest lotto prize offered. The last Powerball jackpot was won on August 3 in Pennsylvania.

That jackpot value is the amount a winner would get if they took 30 graduated annual installments, though a winner can also choose the cash option to get a single lump sum of lesser value. For the $1.9 billion jackpot, the winner can choose between getting 30 equal payments of about $63 million per year or receiving a lump sum cash value of about $929 million.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever won was in January 2016, when three winners split a prize advertised at $1.586 billion. Each took their share of the cash value, which added up to $983.5 million.

Yes, that means the cash value of the current “record” $1.9 billion jackpot is less than the cash value of the $1.586 billion jackpot six years ago. You can thank the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hikes for that discrepancy.

Powerball draws take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.

Powerball is played by charging $2 per ticket and having players choose five white balls between the numbers 1 to 69 and a red Powerball from the numbers 1 to 26. If a player gets all six numbers correct, they win the massive jackpot.

The odds of winning the jackpot by matching all 5 numbers and the Powerball number are one in 292.2 million.

Prior to 2015, though, the white balls were numbered 1 to 59 and the Powerball was numbered 1 to 35. The change means that now gamblers have better odds of winning small prizes but worse odds of winning the jackpot, making it more likely that the big number will grow to record sizes.

“This Powerball game is delivering exactly what our players want,” Powerball Product Group Chairperson Drew Svitko said in a statement prior to Saturday’s drawing. “We are witnessing history in the making with this $1.6 billion jackpot! What’s also exciting is that this run has already created millions of winners, including nearly 100 players who have won prizes worth $1 million or more.”



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Powerball: Jackpot grows to record $1.9 billion as no tickets matched all winning numbers Saturday

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CNN
 — 

The Powerball jackpot has now grown to an estimated $1.9 billion after no winning tickets were sold in Saturday night’s drawing, according to the California Lottery Association.

The winning numbers were 28-45-53-56-69 and the Powerball was 20. The next Powerball drawing is set for Monday.

Saturday’s estimated $1.6 billion draw had been the “world’s largest lotto prize ever offered,” Powerball said.

But unfortunately for ticket buyers, the odds of winning the massive prize remain long – just 1 in 292.2 million.

Having no winners Saturday would “tie the game record for the number of consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner,” Powerball said. Saturday’s drawing at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee was Powerball’s 40th since the jackpot was last won August 3 by a ticket in Pennsylvania.

Saturday’s jackpot, which had a lump-sum option of an estimated $782.4 million “breaks the world record for the Largest National Lottery Jackpot in the Guinness World Records,” California Lottery tweeted ahead of the numbers dropping.

The Guinness World Records’ “Greatest jackpot in a national lottery” was set by Powerball in January 2016, when three tickets won a $1.586 billion jackpot.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.



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Powerball jackpot hits staggering $1.5 billion, just short of world record for lotteries

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The Powerball jackpot is in the neighborhood of the world record for lotteries.

No winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night’s top prize of $1.2 billion, so the jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing will be at least an estimated $1.5 billion, Powerball officials said.

As it stands now, that would be just short of the world record $1.586 billion Powerball grand prize shared by three winners in 2016. The jackpot could still grow if enough tickets are sold before the drawing.

A $1.5 billion jackpot would only trail the world mark and a $1.537 billion Mega Millions pot of gold.     

The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were 02, 11, 22, 35, 60 and a Powerball of 23.

There have now been 39 straight drawings without a jackpot winner since the last one was hit on Aug. 3. So another record is in sight: The Powerball mark for consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner is 40.

Jackpot winners can get their prize as an annuity paid out over 29 years or as a lump sum payment. The cash value of Saturday night’s jackpot will be at least an estimated $745.9 million. All of that is before taxes.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one-in-292.2 million.  

Powerball tickets are $2 each.

They’re sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET and are live streamed at Powerball.com.

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Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.2 billion after Halloween drawing haunts players with no winner yet again

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CNN
 — 

After no lucky trick-or-treater scored Monday night’s billion-dollar Powerball jackpot, players will have to vie for the prize yet again on Wednesday, this time for a whopping estimated $1.2 billion.

The jackpot is the second-largest prize in Powerball’s 30-year history, according to the lottery, just behind the record $1.586 billion win in 2016.

The winning numbers in the Halloween drawing were 13, 19, 36, 39, 59 and red Powerball 13.

While nobody snagged the grand prize in Monday’s drawing, 10 tickets won $1 million prizes and three tickets rang in a $2 million prize by using the lottery’s Power Play feature, Powerball said.

Lottery participants have been haunted for 38 drawings in a row with no jackpot winner, Powerball said. The last grand prize was awarded to a ticket in Pennsylvania on August 3 for a $206.9 million pot.

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