Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots near combined $1B

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Jackpots for the Mega Millions and Powerball lottery games have reached near record levels that could together go over the $1 billion mark by the time the next drawing happens Tuesday after no winners emerged in drawings this past weekend.

The Mega Millions jackpot as of Monday stood at $654 million after no one matched Friday's numbers of 4, 24, 46, 61, 70 and the Mega Ball number of 7. The cash payout before taxes is $372 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," Gordon Medenica, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium and director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming, said in a statement on the game's website.

"With a little luck, we may still break that record by Tuesday. And there's even more fun with $862 million in combined jackpots for Mega Millions and Powerball. Jackpot fever is definitely sweeping the country," he continued.

Mega Millions' next drawing is Tuesday night, while Powerball will pull its new numbers on Wednesday.

While Mega Millions' top prize made Powerball's jackpot look small, that $345 million offering is still pretty impressive. Powerball's cash payout totals $199 million. No one matched Powerball's winning numbers Saturday of 11, 14, 32, 43, 65 and the Powerball number 15.

Mega Millions' record jackpot of $656 million was won March 30, 2012, split between winners from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. The current jackpot has topped the old second-best mark of $648 million set in 2013, divided by winners in California and Georgia.

Powerball is still quite a distance away from its record jackpot of $1.58 billion, that was shared with ticket holders in Tennessee, Florida and California in January 2016.