Lottery players' second chance to win big — really big — this weekend comes with Saturday’s drawing for a $640 million Powerball top prize, the eighth-largest jackpot ever.
The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.
No one beat the odds for Friday's $750 Mega Millions top prize. What had marked fifth-largest-ever jackpot is now estimated to grow to $850 million, which would be the third-largest of all time. The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday.
It had been nearly two years since a lottery jackpot has grown so large. No one has won either game’s top prize in months.
The listed jackpot amounts refer to winners who opt for an annuity, paid over 30 years. Winners nearly always choose cash prizes, which for Powerball would be $478.7 million. The estimated cash prize for the next Mega Millions jackpot is $628.2 million.
Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is offered in Puerto Rico.
