Worth an impressive US$136 million, the US Mega Millions jackpot is the larger of the two following 11 consecutive draws without a top tier winner although a total of nine players have narrowly missed out on winning the jackpot by just one number. The nine ticket holders all managed to match the five main numbers but missed out on the Mega Ball which would have landed them the jackpot. However, these players were rewarded with a US$1 million* second tier prize.
The US Powerball jackpot is following closely behind Mega Millions and is offering a US$100 million jackpot after just six draws with no top prize winner. The US Powerball jackpot has been won twice so far this year; the first time was on 19th February by a ticket holder from California and the second on 23rd April by a ticket holder form Florida.
When a US lottery jackpot exceeds the US$100 million mark, retailers across the participating states and jurisdictions see an increase in ticket sales with some retailers often busier than others. Shops that have sold winning tickets of US$1 million or more often see an increase in ticket sales due to superstitious players flocking to the ‘lucky store’ in the hope that they will sell another winning lottery ticket.
In April, E’s Country Store North in Florida sold a winning US Powerball ticket worth US$148.8 million and the store’s owner, Wendy Turley, was initially dubious about whether the big jackpot win would boost or hurt sales. However, since then, the shop has seen sales soar as players flock there in hope that lightening will strike twice.
We will have to wait and see if any players win either of these jackpots over the weekend but one thing is for certain, the only way to be in with a chance of winning a life-changing prize is to have a ticket!
WorldLottery.net will bring you a round-up of the weekend lottery results on Sunday morning so don’t forget to check back then to see if you matched a winning combination.
*Due to the pari-mutuel distribution of prizes in California, the Match 5 prize winners in the state won a different amount which was based on sales and the number of winners in the prize tier.
Written by Grace Mee