Updated November 13, 2026.
Powerball and Mega Millions share a counter now. They did not start as one game, and neither still uses the field it opened with. A count on a Powerball number page or a Mega Millions number page belongs to one matrix. It is not a forecast and not a suggestion to buy a ticket. Statistics and generated picks do not guarantee a win, and this site is not responsible for any win or loss.
Current rules are on the Powerball and Mega Millions guides, and side by side on Powerball vs Mega Millions. Stored drawings are on the Powerball and Mega Millions results pages.
Lotto*America, then Powerball
MUSL dates itself to September 16, 1987. Lotto*America’s first drawing was February 13, 1988, seven from 40 at $1, then six from 54 on February 8, 1989, two plays for $1. It ended April 18, 1992. Powerball went on sale April 19. The April 22 drawing was 5/45 + 1/45, with a $2 million start and the red ball drawn apart from the white balls. The media center names 15 launch lotteries and counts 48 U.S. jurisdictions now.
The Big Game becomes Mega Millions
The Big Game went on sale August 31, 1996. The first drawing was September 6, in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia. The Washington Post that June reported Friday drawings and a $4 million start. On February 6, 1998, Penelope Kyle of the Virginia Lottery set the first Tuesday drawing for February 10. Michigan described five numbers from 50, nine prizes, a 1 in 22 chance of any prize, and an 11 p.m. draw.
On January 15, 1999 the matrix became 5/50 + 1/36. Michigan first said about 1 in 76 million, then printed 1 in 76,275,360. The start was $5 million, the price stayed $1, and cash joined a 26-payment annuity. New Jersey joined in May 1999. In May 2002 New York and Ohio joined and the name became Mega Millions: sales May 15 at $1, last Big Game drawing May 14, first new drawing May 17. The minimum was $10 million, with overall odds of 1 in 43. The matrix changed too. Texas, on December 5, 2003, sold five from 52 and a Mega Ball from 52.
Cross-selling in 2010
On January 31, 2010 the games went on sale together. Mega Millions says 23 lotteries joined it that day. Tennessee counted 33 jurisdictions at the start. In Michigan, Powerball was $1, drawn Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m., with a $20 million guarantee. MUSL offered Powerball in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, 43 lotteries in all, and offered Mega Millions in 23 of its members. Those Mega Millions drawings began February 2. The new Powerball sellers drew on February 3.
Matrices and ticket prices
The 2013 release dates the previous matrix change to June 2005, the month California joined, and does not give the fields. The 2003 row is the Texas launch.
| First drawing | Matrix | Starting jackpot |
|---|---|---|
| April 22, 1992 | 5/45 + 1/45 | $2 million |
| November 5, 1997 | 5/49 + 1/42 | $10 million |
| October 9, 2002 | 5/53 + 1/42 | $10 million |
| August 31, 2005 | 5/55 + 1/42 | $15 million |
| January 7, 2009 | 5/59 + 1/39 | $20 million |
| January 18, 2012 | 5/59 + 1/35 | $40 million |
| October 7, 2015 | 5/69 + 1/26 | Not stated |
A MUSL draw file headed 5/55 + 1/42 opens August 31, 2005. Florida dates the rise from $1 to $2, with 5/59 + 1/35, a $40 million start, and a $1 million second prize, to January 15, 2012. From October 7, 2015 the field has been five from 69 and a Powerball from 26. Pennsylvania set the jackpot at 1 in 292.20 million, from 1 in 175.22 million, and any prize at 1 in 24.87, from 1 in 31.85, and raised Match 4 plus the Powerball from $10,000 to $50,000. The price stayed $2. The media center now lists a $20 million start, and the odds guide counts the current line.
| Drawing | Matrix |
|---|---|
| January 15, 1999 | 5/50 + 1/36 |
| December 5, 2003 | 5/52 + 1/52 |
| October 22, 2013 | 5/75 + 1/15 |
| October 31, 2017 | 5/70 + 1/25 |
| April 8, 2025 | 5/70 + 1/24 |
On October 22, 2013 the field became 75 and 15, the start rose from $12 million to $15 million, and the jackpot odds were given as 1 in 259 million. The price stayed $1. Five white balls rose from $250,000 to $1 million. Sales at $2 began October 28, 2017, with a $40 million start and any prize at 1 in 24. Idaho’s first drawing was October 31. The March 25, 2025 release priced the April 8 game at $5, after April 4 on the old chart. One fewer Mega Ball moved the jackpot from 1 in 302,575,350 to 1 in 290,472,336, and any prize from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23. A new jackpot starts at $50 million.
Power Play, the Megaplier, and Double Play
Power Play, added March 7, 2001, multiplied every prize except the jackpot by up to five. Florida dates set amounts, up to $2 million, to January 15, 2012, and a 2, 3, 4, or 5 multiplier again to January 19, 2014, with five white balls plus Power Play fixed at $2 million. In 2015, 10× was added under Match 5 when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less. The jackpot is not multiplied.
Texas added the Megaplier on December 5, 2003: $1 extra, multiplying non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, or 4. Its file keeps that column through April 4, 2025. In 2013 the consortium priced it at $1 and added a 5, so five white balls could pay $5 million. The March 25, 2025 release removed it, put 2× through 10× in the $5 price, and ended Just the Jackpot. The Mega Millions guide has the rows. Double Play, from August 23, 2021, redraws the same numbers for a $10 million prize, at $1 in the jurisdictions named in that release.
Which nights they are drawn
The Big Game was Fridays only until February 10, 1998, then Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern in Atlanta. Powerball in 2010 was Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. August 23, 2021 added Monday at that hour, from Tallahassee. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday remain the nights.
Jackpots that reset the record
Annuities are before taxes. See the jackpot guide and the largest jackpots page.
Mega Millions reached $656 million on March 30, 2012, split by Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland. Three Powerball tickets shared $1.586 billion in January 2016, the first multi-jurisdictional prize past $1 billion. One South Carolina ticket won $1.537 billion on October 23, 2018, and a Florida ticket won $1.602 billion on August 8, 2023. The media center still calls November 7, 2022 the record: $2.04 billion, one California ticket.
What the history leaves unchanged
Powerball numbers on this site start October 7, 2015. Mega Millions numbers rate white balls from October 31, 2017 and the Mega Ball from April 8, 2025. A gap is a count of drawings already held. LotteryMigo sells no tickets and pays no prizes. Claim a ticket from the lottery that sold it. Statistics and generated picks do not guarantee a win, and this site is not responsible for any win or loss.
Sources
- MUSL Powerball history — Lotto*America through the 2012 matrix, Power Play, and cross-selling.
- Powerball media center — launch lotteries, the 2015 matrix, Mondays, and record annuities.
- Powerball, April 18, 2022 — April 19, 1992 sales and the April 22 drawing.
- MUSL 5/55 + 1/42 file — opens August 31, 2005.
- Pennsylvania Lottery, July 8, 2015 — October 7, 2015 odds and 10×.
- Florida Lottery dates — the $2 price and the 2014 multiplier.
- Powerball, August 19, 2021 — Mondays and Double Play.
- Michigan Lottery, January 25, 2010 — Powerball at $1 from January 31.
- Mega Millions history — The Big Game, 2002, cross-selling, and records.
- Washington Post, June 12, 1996 — Fridays and a $4 million start.
- Michigan Lottery, February 6, 1998 — February 10, five from 50, 1 in 22.
- Michigan Lottery, January 1999 — 5/50 + 1/36 and the cash option.
- Michigan Lottery, August 2, 1999 — 1 in 76,275,360.
- Michigan Lottery, April 10, 2002 — May 15 sales and a $10 million minimum.
- Lottery Post, December 4, 2003 — Texas at 5/52 + 1/52, with the Megaplier.
- Texas Lottery file — Megaplier column through April 4, 2025.
- Mega Millions, October 19, 2013 — the October 22 matrix and a 5 multiplier.
- Mega Millions, October 18, 2017 — $2 and 5/70 + 1/25.
- Idaho Lottery, September 25, 2017 — October 31 drawing.
- Mega Millions, March 25, 2025 — $5, 24 Mega Balls, Megaplier removed.
- Tennessee Lottery — 33 jurisdictions on January 31, 2010.