News writer
Mississippi had a two-night lucky streak this week with big winners across the state. Players in the state are taking advantage of soaring jackpots and striking gold.
Three wins
On Tuesday in Moss Point, Mississippi, a Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a Pilot Travel Center, a convenience store. The ticket matched all five white balls, winning $1 million. The automatic Megaplier boosted the win to $2 million, according to the Mississippi Lottery, with the matched numbers 07-12-30-40 and 69.
On Wednesday, “lightning struck,” according to the Mississippi Lottery, when a player purchased a Powerball ticket at Mike's Food & Gas in the town of Coldwater. The ticket matched all five white balls, winning a $1 million prize. The player had added a Power Play option, doubling their winnings to $2 million. The matched numbers were 09-12-22-41 and 61.
But that's not it. On the same day, a player purchased a ticket for the daily state game, Mississippi Match 5, and won $60,000. It's a lottery draw jackpot game with matching numbers 1 to 35.
If you're looking to ride Mississippi's lucky streak, lottery tickets are available for purchase in state stores only, not online.
Record jackpots
Mega Millions and Powerball are both on huge jackpot runs. As of press time, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to $950 million, the sixth-highest jackpot ever in the game. The run jackpot has rolled over 37 times since May 31. The longest rollover streak is 42.
The next drawing will be on Saturday, August 30 at 10:59 p.m. eastern time. We'll see if the winner finally emerges, or if the jackpot just keeps on climbing.
The Mega Millions jackpot is at $277 million, with the next drawing on Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern time. The automatic Megaplier feature was added to the game in April. The game also increased individual ticket prices from $2 to $5. This is the first time a Mega Millions winner has landed a big jackpot in Mississippi since those changes.
Smaller prize grabs
When jackpots are high like this, swarms of non-regular players come out of the woodwork to buy tickets. Matching all five balls and the extra ball - the red Powerball or the gold Mega Ball - will land the jackpot, but players are also grabbing smaller prizes on a larger scale.
In addition to the Mississippi winners, players in Ohio and Virginia also won $2 million on Wednesday's Powerball drawing by matching the five white balls and adding a Power Play feature for $1. Players in Arizona, New York, and Virginia - again - also won $1 million without the Power Play add-on.
The odds of matching all five balls and the red Powerball are 1 in 292,201,338.00, while the odds of winning $1 million are a little higher at 1 in 11,688,053.52.
What the winners should do
In Mississippi, players have 180 days to claim tickets for draw games. Winners can remain anonymous. For Prizes of $100,000 or more, winners must go in person to the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters located at 1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100, Flowood, MS, 39232. They should have their original tickets on hand.
Comments