No players matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s Powerball game, so the jackpot for Saturday’s drawing will be $125 million.
Add that to the $312 million jackpot that Washington state’s other multistate lotto game, Mega Millions, offers in its Friday drawing, and the two jackpot annuities total $437 million.
Of course, to win the nearly half-billion in jackpots, you’d have to play both games and hit an amazing 12 numbers — including a Mega Ball and a Powerball.
To hit one or the other jackpot (5 numbers and the sixth specific Mega Ball or Powerball number), the odds are 1 in 132 million (Powerball) or 1 in 199 million (Mega Millions). The odds differences are because of the total numbers and combinations of balls played in either game.
For more information on how the games are played:
http:// www.powerball.com
http://www.megamillions.com
This is the first time since Washington has offered both multistate games that each jackpot tops at least $100 million simultaneously.
Mega Millions will be drawn Friday night, and Powerball’s drawing follows on Saturday night.
If a single player wins Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot and chooses the cash option instead of the 26-year annuity totaling $312 million, that player will receive $198 million before taxes.
If a single player wins Saturday night’s Powerball jackpot and chooses the cash option instead of the annuity totaling $125 million, the lump sum payment will be $63.7 million.
Both Mega Millions and Powerball are played in Washington and more than 40 other states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For specific Washington state lottery information:
http://www.walottery.com
