The Powerball and Mega Millions lottery jackpots have soared to over $300 million each after surviving the weekend's drawings.
Prize money from Friday's Mega Millions rolled over to $343 million, to be drawn on Tuesday, after no lucky winner emerged, although one Florida player did match the first five numbers of the draw, earning $1 million in prize money, USA Today noted.
Saturday night's Powerball draw also failed to produce any winners, sending the prize money for Wednesday night's draw to $440 million.
The lump sum, which features a cash value of $278 million, is the ninth-largest jackpot in the game's history, Reuters reported.
The record Powerball winner for a single ticket buyer was won in August this year by a Massachusetts woman who collected $758 million, while the largest jackpot to date was drawn last year, when a $1.6 billion payout was split among winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Historically it would seem that the start of a new year is a lucky time for lottery players.
According to a news release, four jackpots have been won within the first few days of a new year during the Mega Millions 15 year history.
This includes the seventh-largest Mega Millions prize ever won, a whopping $380 million on Jan. 4, 2011, when winners in Idaho and Washington shared that jackpot.
Another lucky winner rang into the new year on a high in 2009 after claiming a $47 million prize in California while on Jan. 1, 2008, $33 million was won in Texas, and $61 million was won in Tennessee on Jan. 3, 2014.
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