The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots stand at a combined total of $436 million. The lucky winner of the Mega Millions draw will win a life changing $119 million, while the Powerball winner will see around $317 million.
Lottery stands around America have seen a sharp rise in ticket sales, as the new lottery systems see bigger and more frequent jackpots.
The Inquisitr reported a few days ago on the changes to the lottery:
Huge Powerball Jackpots are becoming more and more common since the lottery system was restructured last year. The changes mean that bigger and more frequent jackpots occur, with the price for a ticket having risen to $2.
Lottery spokeswoman, Mary Neubauer, spoke to the Associated Press about the new system: “It usually took a handful of months, if not several months, for a jackpot to reach this large amount. Now it’s achieving that within a handful of weeks. I think the redesign is achieving exactly what we had wanted it to achieve, which is the bigger, faster-growing jackpot.”
Friday night’s draw offers an annuity prize of $119 million, with the cash prize standing at around $80.2. Saturday night’s Powerball jackpot stands at a whopping annuity value of $317 million, with a cash prize of roughly $176.3 million. This is mainly due to the fact that the jackpot has been steadily growing since the last big win on Aug 7.
Todd Rucci, The Lottery Executive Director, said in a statement: “We encourage players to purchase their tickets early and to always play responsibly. Pooling ticket purchases with family members, friends and coworkers can be a fun way to play responsibly while chasing big jackpots.”
The winning numbers of Friday night’s Mega Millions draw were: 09-22-28-48-54, the Mega Ball number was: 8
