Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots total $1B together

A record-smashing Mega Millions prize could await a lucky winner when the multistate lottery and Powerball kick off a two-day, $1 billion jackpot grab Tuesday night.

The Mega Millions jackpot is

$654 million, $2 million short of the lottery’s record. Powerball’s jackpot offers a massive payout: There is a top prize of at least $345 million Wednesday. Both totals are likely to rise.

The bloated payouts are a function of a jackpot drought. Mega Millions last saw a jackpot winner July 24 when 11 California co-workers shared

$543 million – the largest prize won on a single Mega Millions ticket.

More than two months ago, Powerball hit for the last time when New Yorker Nandlall Mangal was the sole winner of $245.6 million.

“It’s so exciting for our players, and all of us, to see the Mega Millions jackpot getting so close to an all-time record level,” said Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium and director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming. “With a little luck, we may still break that record.”

If you want all the Mega Millions money upfront, the payout on

$654 million is a paltry $372 million. You can cash out Powerball’s

$345 million jackpot for $199 million. If you prefer math to luck, here is an eye-opening disclaimer: The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are

302,575,350 to 1.

The odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot are 292,201,388 to 1.

The Mega Millions record prize of

$656 million goes back to 2012, when winners from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland split the cash three ways.

Friday’s Mega Millions wasn’t a complete bust. There were 2,651,183 “winning” tickets at a wide range of prize levels in the drawing Oct. 12. One ticket, sold in Arkansas, matched the five white balls Friday night to win the game’s second prize, which, because of a multiplier, cashed in for $3 million.

Fifty-five tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball for the

$10,000 third prize; seven of those are actually worth $30,000 each because they included the multiplier.

Three other Mega Millions jackpots have been won this year: $451 million on Jan. 5 (Florida), $533 million on March 30 (New Jersey) and $142 million on May 4 (Ohio).

Mega Millions is played in 44 states; Washington, D.C.; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball reaches all those areas plus Puerto Rico. The big jackpots could mean lines at some ticket locations as the drawings near.

“Jackpot fever is definitely sweeping the country!” Medenica said.

“With a little luck, we may still break that record.” Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium and director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming