Jackpots of $1.9 Billion up for Grabs in Two US Lotteries

(Reuters) – An estimated $1.9 billion is up for grabs this week as both multistate lotteries in the United States hold drawings for some of the richest jackpots in their histories.

On Monday, Powerball players will vie for $800 million, the sixth-largest grand prize in the lottery’s history. The drawing, set for 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT on Tuesday), is the 36th since the last Powerball winner hit the jackpot on New Year’s Day.

If players still feel lucky after Monday’s drawing, they will have a chance on Tuesday to take a $1.1 billion jackpot in the multistate Mega Millions, the fifth-largest prize in that game’s history.

The Mega Millions drawing will be held at 11 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (0300 GMT on Wednesday). Its jackpot was last won on Dec. 8.

Tickets for both lotteries are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also played in Puerto Rico.

“Lottery fever continues to spread throughout the country,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin, director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement.

Both purses are still below the largest lottery prize total in U.S. history. That came in November 2022 when a single ticket holder in California won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

In both lotteries, winner or winners must match the correct six double-digit numbers on a $2 ticket.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are listed as one in 292.2 million. The odds of winning the Mega Millions are listed as one in 302.6 million.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Will Dunham)

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