Powerball Jackpot Climbs to $348 Million After June 24 Drawing Finds No Winner

Q: With two massive jackpots growing, which lottery's rules give you a better statistical value for your money?

Powerball gives you the better statistical value per dollar, even though Mega Millions has the bigger jackpot right now. The key reason is ticket price. A Powerball play costs $2, while Mega Millions now costs $5. The jackpot odds are very similar: about 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball versus roughly 1 in 290.5 million for Mega Millions. Mega Millions is only slightly easier to win, but it costs 2.5 times as much. Measured per dollar spent, Powerball is the stronger buy. A $2 Powerball ticket buys nearly the same jackpot odds as a $5 Mega Millions ticket, so your chance at the top prize for each dollar is better with Powerball. Even if you add Power Play for $1, Powerball still costs less than Mega Millions. Mega Millions does offer a larger advertised jackpot in this cycle — about $489 million for June 26, later rising to $511 million, versus Powerball’s $348 million for June 27 — and its built-in multiplier adds value to lower-tier prizes. If you are focused on the size of the possible payout, Mega Millions is more attractive. But if the question is strictly which game’s rules give better statistical value for your money, Powerball has the edge because its odds are nearly the same at a much lower entry price. Neither game is a favorable investment overall; both remain long-shot gambles with negative expected return for most players.

3 articles · Updated · IndyStar · Jun 24

$348 million is the estimated jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers in Wednesday night's $327 million game.
The June 24 winning numbers were 13, 14, 16, 21 and 38, with Powerball 14; the Power Play multiplier was 2x.
Zero tickets matched the first five numbers for the $1 million prize, while the Double Play drawing also produced no $10 million jackpot winner and no $500,000 five-number winner.
Saturday's drawing carries a cash option of $158.3 million; Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at about 10:59 p.m. ET.