GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two major North Carolina lottery jackpots are set to be drawn on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing potentially hundreds of millions to two winners in the New Year.
In North Carolina, both the Mega Millions and Powerball lottery games are stuffed with more than $350 million each, a combined $739 million for both prizes, according to the NC Education lottery.
The first chance to win comes with Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing where the jackpot stands at a $376 million annuity that is worth $287.4 million in cash. That’s the highest jackpot in six months, NC Education lottery officials said.
The second chance comes with Wednesday’s Powerball drawing where its jackpot weighs in at a $363 million annuity that is worth $279.2 million cash. That’s the highest the jackpot has been since January 2020.
“We would love to see someone in North Carolina start 2021 with one of these life-changing jackpots,” Mark Michalko, executive director of the NC Education Lottery, said. “That would be a great way to end the year.”
The odds of winning a Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.
Players can try their luck and buy $2 Powerball or Mega Millions tickets at any lottery retail location, through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com, or by using the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education.
Both games have delivered some $1 million wins as North Carolinians tried their luck at the dueling jackpots, NC lottery officials said. In the last month, three Mega Millions tickets sold in North Carolina have won a $1 million prize. On Saturday, a lucky ticket sold in Forsyth County won a $1 million prize in the Powerball drawing, according to NC lottery officials.