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Mega Millions bumps up to $418M for Friday's drawing; Powerball soars to $550M

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The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in more than 302 million. You have a better chance at all these other extraordinary things. USA TODAY

What would have been the eighth largest Mega Millions jackpot ever now has the potential to become its fourth largest prize.

No one matched all six numbers, including the Mega Ball, in Tuesday night's drawing, Mega Millions officials said early Wednesday.

The winning numbers you didn't get? 01, 42, 47, 64 and 70; the Mega Ball was 22. 

The odds of winning Tuesday's $361 million jackpot were more than 1 in 302 million. Those odds remain the same for Friday's $418 million top prize.

► Jan. 2: Happier new year: $800 million in jackpots await lucky winners
► Dec. 31: Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots soar. Will you hit it rich in 2018?
► Dec. 30: What to do if you win the lottery in 2018

But lottery aficionados have a second multi-million-dollar lotto to look forward to: Saturday night's whopping $550 million Powerball jackpot.

No one matched all five numbers and the Powerball Wednesday night for a drawing estimated at $440 million, so the jackpot rolled over yet again. Those numbers were 2, 18, 37, 39, 42 with the Powerball 12 and Powerplay of 3.

There were some lucky lesser winners: One person in Florida won a $2 million Match 5 Winners Power Play and five people — in California, Florida, North Carolina, New York and Oregon — won $1 million each as Match 5 winners. According to Powerball's website, there were more than 3 million players who won more than $30 million in smaller prizes Wednesday.

Mega Millions was modified in October with new rules and a ticket price increase, more than doubling the starting jackpots. 

Such large jackpots for both Powerball and Mega Millions are rare, said Dennis Rosebrough, public relations director for the Hoosier Lottery. Typically, if one hits, the other continues to grow. 

"The games were designed this way," he said. "Because we know that our players are driven — they’re motivated by big jackpots."

What happens if no one wins? The jackpot will continue to grow, and players will have another chance to win, Rosebrough said.

The next Mega Millions drawing is scheduled for 11 p.m. Friday, and the next Powerball drawing is scheduled for the same time Saturday. 

Ever wonder what that Mega Millions Megaplier could do? It multiplies those consolation prizes for players who didn't get all the numbers but got some.

For example, a person who matched all five Mega Millions numbers but didn't get the Mega Ball normally would win $1 million. Tuesday night's 4x Megaplier would boost that to $4 million. And even matching the Mega Ball, generally guaranteed to get you $2, would raise your stakes to $8.

Follow Holly V. Hayes on Twitter: @hollyvhays

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NYU Stern School of Business Statistics professor Aaron Tenenbeim says the average person has a better chance of golfing a hole in one twice in a row than winning a Powerball lottery jackpot. AP

 

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