Could Someone From North Carolina Win $1.2 Billion This Week in Lottery Jackpots?
Lottery fever is sweeping North Carolina! With no winners coming forward after last weekend’s drawings, the Mega Millions and Powerball lottery jackpots now total over $1.2 billion, and someone from North Carolina could win.
The Mega Millions lottery jackpot, previously sitting at around $687 million as of this past Friday, has now grown to a whopping estimate of $735 million. The next drawing will be this coming Tuesday, March 12. The winner will have the choice of taking home the full jackpot as an annuity, or $356.7 million in cash.
Meanwhile, the Powerball lottery jackpot has grown substantially as well. With Saturday’s drawing yielding zero winners the pot has gained an extra 11 million dollars, bringing the total to $532 million. The lucky player who wins the upcoming drawing on Monday, March 11 can choose to receive either the full 532 million annuity, or an immediate cash prize of $260 million.
In a recent news release, North Carolina Education Lottery executive director Mark Michalko was thrilled with the recent enthusiasm toward both lottery jackpot drawings.
“Powerball and Mega Millions continue to grow at the same time and that has created a lot of excitement about the size of the jackpots,” Michalko said.
The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302 million. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million. Yes, the odds may be stacked against you, but you have just as good a shot as anyone right? That’s what I’m telling myself on the way to my local 7-11 for a ticket.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.8 million a day on average for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.