BOISE, Idaho – The Mega Millions estimated jackpot for Friday night has reached three-quarters of a billion dollars. The Powerball jackpot for Saturday night is now at $640 million. Combined, their jackpots total nearly $1.4 billion available for players to win this weekend.  As a wave of Mega Millions mania and Powerball fever sweep across the Gem State, the Idaho Lottery is reminding everyone that playing wise benefits Idaho.  

“When there’s this much interest in over a billion dollars in combined prizes on both of our big jackpot games, remember it only takes one ticket to win.  Play Wise and play what you can afford, don’t go overboard,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director.

Playing Wise also helps the Idaho Lottery’s beneficiaries.  

“The real winners from this weekend will be Idaho’s public schools and buildings,” added Anderson. “Over the last seven days, sales from these two games have combined to generate more than $1,000,000 in dividends for our good causes.”

In the past week, both games have combined to produce nearly 50,000 winning tickets for a total of $257,850 in prizes.

At $750 million, this jackpot is the second largest in Mega Millions history and is the fifth largest jackpot in United States history.  At $640 million, Powerball is currently the 5th largest in its history, and the 9th largest jackpot in United States history.  

As the draws get closer, some retail locations may experience higher than normal volume of player traffic. Players are advised to plan accordingly, as there may be lines to purchase tickets.

Players have until 7:55 p.m. MT on Friday evening to purchase a ticket to participate in the Mega Millions draw and 7:55 p.m. MT on Saturday evening for the Powerball draw.

The Idaho Lottery also recommends players sign the back of their tickets after purchase and keep them in a safe place until claiming their prize.

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ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY

The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch GamesTM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since their inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold over $4.2 billion in products, awarded more than $2.6 billion in prizes to players, returned $249 million in retail commissions, and distributed $961.5 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and buildings. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.