Lottery fever has gripped players across the country and in Idaho.
This as the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots reach near-record highs.
The estimated jackpot for Friday night's Mega Millions drawing has reached three-quarters of a billion dollars.
And the Powerball jackpot for Saturday night has climbed to $640 million after nobody won Wednesday's drawing.
Combined, their jackpots total nearly $1.4 billion available for players to win this weekend.
As lottery fever sweeps across the Gem State, the Idaho Lottery is reminding everyone to 'play wise.'
“When there’s this much interest in over a billion dollars in combined prizes on both of our big jackpot games, remember it only takes one ticket to win. Play wise and play what you can afford, don’t go overboard,” said Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director.
“The real winners from this weekend will be Idaho’s public schools and buildings,” added Anderson. “Over the last seven days, sales from these two games have combined to generate more than $1,000,000 in dividends for our good causes.”
And over the past week, the Idaho Lottery says there have been nearly 50,000 winning Powerball and Mega Millions tickets sold in the state for a total of $257,850 in prizes.
At $750 million, this is the second largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and is the fifth largest jackpot in United States history. At $640 million, Powerball is currently the 5th largest in its history, and the 9th largest jackpot in U.S. history.
As the draws get closer, some retail locations may experience higher than normal volume of player traffic. Players are advised to plan accordingly, as there may be lines to purchase tickets.
Players have until 7:55 p.m. MT on Friday evening to purchase a ticket to participate in the Mega Millions draw and 7:55 p.m. MT on Saturday evening for the Powerball draw.
The Idaho Lottery also recommends players sign the back of their tickets after purchase and keep them in a safe place until claiming their prize.
