Seven of the nine billion-dollar jackpots have taken place in the last three years. The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have crossed $1 billion nine times and all of these instances occurred after 2016. In August, a single ticket sold in Florida won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot-the largest prize so far this year. The $1.4 billion jackpot is the second biggest so far this year and the third biggest in Powerball’s history.
The Mega Millions Jackpot currently stands at $350 million and will have its next drawing on Friday. The next drawing for the Powerball jackpot will take place on Saturday night.
However, that is not as bad as the Mega Millions jackpot’s 1-in-302.6 million odds. The eventual winner of the Powerball jackpot will have to overcome pretty abysmal odds of 1-in-292.2 million. In comparison, the billion-dollar mark was breached only twice in 2022 and once in 2021. That is the total number of times that the lottery jackpot has risen past $1 billion in 2023. Depending on their state of residence, the winner could face further taxes, as some states like New York levy a 10.9% tax on lottery winnings, while others like Texas, Florida, and California don’t tax them at all.
