Powerball And Mega Millions Drawings Approach $850 Million

CONCORD, NH — About $850 million will be up for grabs during the next 48 hours, according to New Hampshire Lottery officials.

Monday night’s Powerball drawing was expected to exceed $401 million, while Tuesday’s Mega Millions will jump to $445 million. If someone wins Powerball on Monday, the one-time cash payout was expected to be $205.4 million before taxes. Mega Millions’ one-time cash payout should be $226 million before taxes.

“We are really seeing the excitement and anticipation rising with nearly $850 million in jackpots just waiting to be won between Powerball and Mega Millions drawings tonight and tomorrow,” Charlie McIntyre, the executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, said. “Historically, we tend to see ticket sales increase when a jackpot hits the $400 million mark — not only do we have one jackpot over $400 million, we have two back to back. That trend is proving true once again, as our retailers are reporting the pace of sales is picking up. Two chances to win big in two days, and we encourage you to get in the action now.”

While these jackpots are high, they dwarf the largest historical jackpots for both games. Power had a $1.59 billion jackpot in January 2016, while Mega Millions had a $1.54 billion jackpot in October 2018.

Both games have been growing since the summer when jackpots were won — including the $1.34 billion winning ticket on Mega Millions, the third largest jackpot ever, which was drawn in Illinois.

For more information, visit the lottery’s website, linked here.

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