News Release Nebraska Lottery
LINCOLN, Neb.-Two big jackpots are up for grabs in the next Mega Millions® and Powerball® drawings. Because of these high jackpots, the Nebraska Lottery reminds customers to play responsibly.
A string of drawings without a jackpot winner has grown the estimated Mega Millions jackpot to its highest level since June. There have been 29 consecutive drawings since September 18 without a jackpot winner. This run has grown the estimated jackpot for Tuesday, December 29 drawing to $376 million or $287.4 million with the cash option selected.
Powerball has also seen its jackpot grow over the last few months. There have been 29 drawings since September 19 without a jackpot winner, growing the estimated jackpot for the Wednesday, December 30 drawing to $363 million or $279.2 million with the cash option selected.
The dual jackpot runs have produced some large Nebraska winners. A $100,000 Powerball Power Play winning ticket for the November 25 drawing was sold at Mega Saver, 4420 South 24th Street in Omaha; another $100,000 Powerball Power Play ticket was sold at Cubby's, 9220 Mormon Bridge Road in Omaha for the December 12 drawing; and a $20,000 Mega Millions with Megaplier winning ticket for the December 22 drawing was sold at Westco, 1120 7th Street in Crawford.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot on record occurred in October 2018 when one winner in South Carolina won a $1.537 billion jackpot. The largest Powerball jackpot on record occurred in January 2016 when three winners in California, Florida and Tennessee split a $1.586 billion jackpot.
Play Responsibly
Because of the high jackpots, the Nebraska Lottery encourages customers to play within their means. “It’s important for Nebraska Lottery players to remember that no matter how large the jackpot is, the odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million, and the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million,” said Lottery Director Brian Rockey. “Your odds of winning remain the same, regardless of how many tickets are purchased or how many people play.” If you or someone you know has a problem with compulsive gambling, free help is available at problemgambling.nebraska.gov.
The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. Over $793 million has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.