Difference Between Mega Millions and Powerball

There are many state and private lotteries for those who want to become rich overnight. However, if you are one of those who dream big and think of riches beyond the ordinary, there are two multi state lotteries that promise riches in extraordinary proportions, Mega Millions and Powerball. There are millions of people playing these lotteries on a regular basis; who does not want to be a billionaire overnight? This article tries to find out the differences between Mega Millions and Powerball, to help people take an informed decision.

Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a state run lottery that promises millions to players with jackpots starting from $12 million. If, however, the winner does not exercise the cash option, he gets one million dollars every year for the next 26 years. Jackpot gets added up when there is no winner, and eventually the huge amount goes to the next jackpot winner. This is a $1 lottery though there is the option for players to extra $1 for every successive game that they do not hit jackpot in and get a megaplier option where they get their jackpot multiplied by 2, 3, 4, or more. The lottery is drawn twice every week on Tuesdays and Fridays mostly in Atlanta City in Georgia.

Powerball

This is another multi state lottery game being played in 44 jurisdictions running on similar lines as that of Mega Millions. It was a $1 lottery till January 2012, but today it costs $2 with the power play option costing $3 instead of $2 earlier. Time to stop sales of the tickets is 10 PM Eastern Standard Time in most states.

A player investing $2 gets a chance to select 5 numbers from 59 white balls, and a single number from 35 red balls. In the draw, a machine selects numbers for white balls while another machine selects numbers for the red balls. The order in which white balls are drawn does not matter, and a player has to match the numbers with his chosen numbers.