It's been months since either the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots have been won, and that has sent the jackpots soaring. Friday night's Mega Millions jackpot is an estimated $450-million and Saturday's Powerball will pay out at least $570-million. The jackpots are expected to rise ahead of the drawing as more and more people buy tickets in hopes of striking it rich.
The odds of winning are not in your favor though. Odds for the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million while the Mega Millions jackpot has odds of 1 in 302.5 million. According to CNBC the odds are winning both are "1 in 75,648,252,765,957,300. (That's 75 quadrillion.)"
Even if you do win one, or both, Uncle Sam will take a hefty cut of those winnings. CNBC broke it down
Federal tax withholding on the $281.2 million Mega Millions lump sum would be $70.3 million, and state taxes could knock out up to another $24.8 million (with New York the worst offender). For the Powerball, those tax tallies for the $358.5 million cash prize would be $89.6 million and up to $31.6 million, respectively.
The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. ET on Friday (January 5th), and the next Powerball drawing is Saturday(January 6th) at 10:59 p.m. ET.
If nobody wins, the jackpots will continue to rise, and could top the record for biggest lottery jackpot.