Jackpot Continues To Soar: Here’s How Lottery Tickets Shaped Our History
The Powerball and Mega Million’s jackpot have swelled to an unbelievable $2 billion after there were no winners this weekend, CNN reports. At this point, just about everyone in the U.S. is rushing out to purchase a lottery ticket or two with the hopes of winning big.
According to History, lottery tickets have played a very key role in the United States funding over the years. In addition to funding the original 13 colonies, lottery tickets funded the construction of a number of well-known colleges across the United States including Yale, Harvard, William and Mary, and Princeton.
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock even sponsored a few lotteries to use the funding to help pay for specific projects they were personally vested in. Washington used the funding for road construction in the state of Virginia. Franklin used lottery funding to pay for the construction of cannons during the American Revolution. Hancock also used lottery funding for a construction project.
The very first lotteries in the United States date all the way back to the 1600s, according to Encyclopedia. King James I is credited for creating the very first lottery. The funds from the lottery were used for the Jamestown settlement in Virginia.
During American history, lottery and lottery tickets were even used to fund and support wars. For example, the First Continental Congress kicked off a massive lottery to fund the Revolutionary War, History reveals. The southern states also relied heavily on funding from lottery tickets during the Civil War.
The Mega Millions jackpot has not seen a winner since July when 11 workers from California split a prize of $543 million. The Powerball jackpot prize has continued to climb since August 11 when a winner came forward in New York. Mega Millions and Powerball tickets can be purchased for $2.
The Mega Millions jackpot is now at $868 million. It's the second largest lottery prize in U.S. history https://t.co/2mruxKSzcA
— TIME (@TIME) October 17, 2018
According to CNBC, the Mega Millions jackpot is now the largest jackpot in history at $1.6 billion. Previously, the $1.586 billion jackpot won in January of 2016 held the title of biggest prize. The second largest jackpot was $758.7 million won by Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts in August of last year. Wanczyk reportedly quit her job of three decades after winning.
NEW THIS MORNING: No winner in Friday night's $1 billion Mega Millions drawing. Jackpot jumps to a record $1.6 BILLION – the highest in U.S. lottery history. https://t.co/j5PapfAjoN #MegaMillions pic.twitter.com/CI57y3zWcX
— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2018
As the Inquisitr previously reported, the next Mega Millions draw is on Tuesday and the next Powerball draw is on Wednesday. The new cash payout for the Powerball is $354.3 million and the cash payout for the Mega Millions is $904 million.
History speculates the United States economy is really raking it in big as the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots continue to swell with no winners.
