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POWERBALL

Idaho ends Powerball in state, fearing foreign participation

Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson addresses the House State Affairs Committee at the Statehouse in Boise, Idaho on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The panel killed legislation that would have allowed the Powerball game with multi-million dollar jackpots to continue in the state. (AP Photo/Keith Ridler)BOISE, Idaho – Idaho lawmakers fearing foreign participation in the Powerball lottery killed legislation on Wednesday that would have allowed the game with huge jackpots to continue in the state after a run of more than 30 years. The move came after Idaho Lottery officials sought a change in state law because Powerball is expanding to include Australia in 2021 and Britain in 2022. Some Idaho lawmakers said they feared that the odds of an Idaho resident winning would be reduced with more players.

$1B Mega Millions prize a result of long odds, slow sales

Blank forms for the Mega Millions lottery sit in a bin at a local grocery store, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. It’s only the third time a lottery jackpot has grown so large, but much has changed since the last time such a big prize was up for grabs in 2018. After a peak in October 2018, Medenica said sales of the big lottery games dropped about 50%, prompting talk among lottery officials about jackpot fatigue. Sales of Mega Millions and Powerball continued to decline after the virus hit along with other lottery games, but while scratch tickets and other instant games rebounded strongly later in the year, national game sales remained moribund. It’s hard to fathom how unlikely it is to beat odds of one in 292.2 million for Powerball or one in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.

Hard-luck Maryland town gets a $731.1 million Powerball win

Blank forms for the Powerball lottery sit in a bin at a local grocery store, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. The store will get a $100,000 bonus for selling the ticket to the fifth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. Just who will collect the Powerball prize may never be known: Maryland is one of the states that allow winners to remain anonymous. The Powerball jackpot came only a day after nobody won the $970 million Mega Millions prize, the third-largest prize in U.S. history. Most winners opt for cash prizes, which for Mega Millions would be $716.3 million and $546.8 million for Wednesday's Powerball.

Mega Millions jackpot now $865M; Powerball up to $730M

The Mega Millions top prize climbed to an estimated $865 million, the biggest jackpot in more than two years. The winning number’s in Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing were: 10-19-26-28-50 and a Mega Ball of 16. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since Sept. 15, allowing the prize to grow larger and larger over four months. Winners almost always opt for cash prizes, which for Mega Millions would be $638.8 million and $546 million for Powerball. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots surge, here’s what to know if you bought a ticket

Mega Millions is now $750 million while Powerball grew to $640 million. One local statistics professor said even though the prize pool gets bigger, your odds of winning stay the same. And then there’s something many have thought about: What do you do if you actually win the lottery? You’ll want to keep the ticket in a secure location as you talk with legal and financial professionals to get advice. You take 6 months to plan a wedding, and you certainly should take 6 months to plan for intergenerational wealth,” said Virginia Tech Professor of Practice in the Department of Finance, Derek Klock.

Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots grow to combined $1.39B

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, file photo, a customer shows off a Mega Millions lottery ticket after purchasing it, in Orlando, Fla. The next drawing for Mega Millions is Friday night, when a $750 million prize will be up for grabs. The next Mega Millions drawing is Friday night, when an estimated $750 million prize will be up for grabs. The drawing for an estimated $640 million Powerball jackpot will be Saturday night. Your odds of winning either jackpot is exceedingly small, at 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.

Powerball jackpot hits $640M as Mega Millions grows to $750M

A billboard advertises the jackpots of the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing were: 4-19-23-25-49 and a Powerball of 14. The Powerball prize drawing was only a day after no one won a $625 million Mega Millions jackpot, causing that prize to grow to $750 million ahead of the next drawing on Friday night. The Mega Millions prize is now the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball jackpot hits $550M as Mega Millions grows to $750M

A billboard advertises the jackpots of the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries, in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Winning numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing were: 4-19-23-25-49 and a Powerball of 14. The Powerball prize drawing comes only a day after no one won a $625 million Mega Millions jackpot, causing that prize to grow to $750 million ahead the next drawing on Friday night. The Mega Millions prize is now the fifth-largest in U.S. history. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mega Millions $625M jackpot largest in nearly 2 years

The Mega Millions $625 million jackpot is the largest lottery prize in nearly two years. The winning numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing of the Mega Millions game were: 12-14-26-28-33, Mega Ball: 09. Nearly all jackpot winners actually take the cash option, which would be an estimated $458.8 million for Mega Millions and $411.4 million for Powerball. They're even steeper for Mega Millions, at one in 302.5 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What’s News Today: Lottery jackpot grows, COVID-19 vaccines

The Pulaski County School Board will meet tonight to select a new chair and vice-chair. Afterward, it will hold a public hearing about the school system’s budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. Martinsville City Council will meet today to discuss CARES Act funding. If approved, the Board of Supervisors could hold a public hearing and hold a vote later this month. City council will hold a public hearing and could then approve the resolution.

No more puny prizes: Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots soar

A digital billboard in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, shows jackpots for the Mega Millions and Powerball games. Lottery players have a chance to win the largest jackpots in nearly two years as Mega Millions has grown to $600 million and Powerball has climbed to $550 million. The projected Mega Millions grand prize is the eighth largest in U.S. history, and the Powerball jackpot is the 12th biggest. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million, and the chances are even worse for Mega Millions at one in 302.5 million. Mega Millions and Powerball are both played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

People dream big as lottery jackpots exceed $400 million

ROANOKE, Va. – The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are now each over $400 million and customers are cashing in at A-1 Food Mart in Roanoke hoping to cash out big. “First off, I would probably give my family some money,” said Paul Fagg, who lives in Roanoke. “You could do a lot with that money.””I’d probably buy the store,” said Nemo Basnet, who works at the mart. He sold a winning $1 million scratch-off ticket in October. The chances of winning the jackpots are about 1 in 300 million.

Customer tips bartender Powerball ticket that wins $50,000

(KMOV) -- A bartender in Missouri won't soon forget a tip one of her regular customers left for her: a Powerball ticket that won $50,000. The next day, the bar's lottery terminal alerted them that they had sold a big winning ticket. It turns out that winning ticket was Russey's. Her tickets matched four of the five white-ball number drawn on Oct. 19, plus the Powerball. Missouri Lottery said Russey's $50,000 ticket is the 40th sold in Missouri, and the second sold in O'Fallon in 2019.

Couple with 21 Grandchildren Snag $80 Million Powerball Prize

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmothers house we gobecause she is $80 million dollars richer. A Michigan family hit the massive Powerball drawing on Sept. 21, but collected their winnings on Wednesday. Phillip Chippewa, 54, and his wife, Dawn, took their family along to claim the prize. They both work for and are members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized Native American tribe. RELATED STORIES$768 Million Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in WisconsinPowerball Soars to $750 Million, 4th Largest Lottery Jackpot in U.S. HistoryMan Doesn't Call Out Sick From Work, Wins Powerball

Driving Home the Jackpot: Couple Finds $100,000 Lottery Ticket in Their Car

A Connecticut couple was on a road trip to Virginia when they realized they had a $100,000 Powerball ticket tucked away in the sun visor of their car. "Frank checked the tickets while I read the numbers off of the email we matched four numbers, plus the Powerball," Long-Combs told the Connecticut Lottery. She said they kept their lips sealed and didnt tell anyone for superstitious reasons. We didn't tell anybody either, just in case we were wrong. "Once we got back to Connecticut, I went to a lottery retailer and scanned the ticket in a ticket checker,'' Laquitara said.