Powerball Jackpot Hits $1 Billion, Mega Millions Next Drawing Tuesday Night

The Jackpots’ Combined Total Now More Than $1.6 Billion

CLIVE, Iowa — The Powerball® jackpot has hit $1 billion for just the third time in the game’s history, with no jackpot winner in its latest drawing on Monday. With the Mega Millions® jackpot also in the stratosphere, the two games’ grand prizes have reached a combined total of more than $1.6 billion.

The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1 billion annuity, $516.8 million lump-sum value, for the game’s next drawing on Wednesday. That is the third-largest jackpot in Powerball history.

The Mega Millions jackpot faces its next test in its drawing Tuesday night. The game’s grand prize is an estimated $640 million annuity, $328 million lump-sum option for Tuesday’s drawing. That is the seventh-largest jackpot in the history of that game.

This is the third time that the jackpots in Powerball and Mega Millions have simultaneously topped $600 million.

The world record for a lottery prize remains the Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion won in November in California.

The Latest Winning Numbers And Iowa Prize Totals

The winning numbers in Monday’s Powerball drawing were: 5-8-9-17-41 and Powerball 21. The Power Play® number was 4.

Iowa Lottery players won a total of 27,127 prizes in that drawing.

The winning numbers in Friday’s Mega Millions drawing were: 10-24-48-51-66 and Mega Ball 15. The Megaplier® number was 2.

Iowa Lottery players won a total of 45,558 prizes in the two games’ weekend drawings.

Iowa Sales For Monday’s Drawing

Iowa Lottery players bought more than $1.5 million in Powerball tickets for Monday’s drawing, including more than $1.2 million in tickets on Monday alone.

But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for Monday’s drawing remained about $6, or about three plays per ticket. Lottery officials were pleased that Iowans had fun playing and didn’t go overboard.

What Does ‘Coverage’ Mean For A Jackpot Drawing?

By tracking sales, lottery officials can estimate how many of all the possible combinations in the game have been purchased for a particular drawing. The term involved is coverage – how many of the combinations have been “covered.” The coverage estimate for Monday’s Powerball drawing was 21.5 percent. It is anticipated to be higher for Wednesday’s drawing.

The coverage estimate for Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing is 16 percent.

Remember The State Where You Bought Your Ticket

With a lot of people enjoying the summer travel season, remember that prizes need to be claimed from the lottery where you bought your ticket.

While Powerball and Mega Millions are sold across the country, each lottery has its own central gaming system that generates tickets in that jurisdiction. The tickets involved can only be scanned or cashed by lottery equipment in that particular state.

The Iowa Lottery has received questions this week from players asking if they could cash tickets in Iowa that they bought in another state, and vice versa. The answer is no – those prizes need to be claimed from the lottery in the jurisdiction where they were purchased.

Iowa Winner From Earlier In Jackpot Run Claims Prize

The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have been growing since mid-April, meaning that a lot of winners have been created in the games, even as the grand prizes have continued to grow. An Iowa prize claim this week is an example of that.

On Monday, a Davenport man claimed a $1 million Mega Millions prize he had won in that game’s June 23 drawing. Michael “Hoogie” Hoogerwerf bought just one easy-pick ticket for that night’s drawing.

His ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball to win a $1 million prize. Hoogerwerf’s ticket was the only one in the country to win a $1 million prize in the June 23 drawing.

Protect Yourself From Scammers Who Notice Big Jackpots, Too

Scam attempts have been at all-time highs in recent years, and while the criminals behind them run cons of all types, they turn their attention to lottery games when jackpots are high.

Scam operations have fraudulently used the names and logos of lotteries and well-known lottery games, and sometimes the names of lottery winners and lottery officials in an attempt to steal people’s money.

The scams can involve persistent telephone calls and official-looking emails, text messages, social media postings, and letters. They promise big prizes and try to lure consumers into thinking they have won, but it is a scam.

A common thread is that the unsuspecting “winner” is asked to pay money up front for supposed things such as taxes, processing fees or delivery charges.

The scammers can sound quite convincing but it’s important to know this simple truth: There is never a fee to claim a real lottery prize. If you are asked to pay money, it is a scam.

When you win a prize in a game like Powerball or Mega Millions, you notify the lottery that you are the winner, not the other way around. The Iowa Lottery has records about the winning ticket and where it was purchased, but the lottery does not know the winner’s identity until that person presents the ticket for payment.

The Iowa Lottery keeps security reminders as a permanent feature on its website to help consumers stay safe. Here is a direct link to the lottery’s Player Security tips: https://ialottery.com/Pages/PlayerSecurity/PlayerSecurity_main.aspx

The Deadline To Buy

Remember that the deadline in Iowa to buy tickets for the Mega Millions and Powerball drawings is 8:59 p.m. on the night of the drawing. If you buy a ticket after that, it will be for an upcoming drawing and you won’t be in the running for that night’s giant prize.