The Iowa Lottery, along with other lotteries across the U.S., began cross-selling the Powerball and Mega Millions games earlier this year with hopes of producing bigger prizes. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says it didn’t take long for that to happen in both games. The Mega Millions jackpot is at $112 million for tonight’s drawing, while the Powerball jackpot has climbed to $114 million for Wednesday’s drawing.
“It’s the first time in Iowa that we’ve had two games that both have jackpots over $100 million,” Neubauer said. The two games were previously sold in separate jurisdictions. The jackpots have been climbing at a much faster rate since more people started playing the two games in late January.
“So, that’s another exciting thing for us because we had thought that is what would happen with the jackpots and it’s nice to see that is indeed coming true with the games,” Neubauer said. The Mega Millions jackpot was last won in the January 29 drawing when a Texas man claimed a $144 million prize. The Powerball jackpot was last won on February 6 by a retired firefighter from North Carolina. That prize was just over $141 million.