Huge Jackpots In Store For Powerball, Mega Millions In 2018
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- You didn't win the $391 million Powerball drawing Saturday night, but neither did anybody else.
As CBS2's Reena Roy reported, that means both Powerball and Mega Millions will be entering 2018 with giant jackpots. And a couple dollars' investment in the coming days could turn you into a multimillionaire.
"You can't win it unless you're in it, so $2 -- who cares?" one customer said.
The combined jackpot between the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries is nearly $1 billion, after no one had the winning numbers in the Powerball drawing on Saturday night.
Since then, people have been buying ticket after ticket at gas stations and convenience stores across the area in hopes of getting lucky.
"I would help my children -- two boys, one girl," one buyer said. "They could buy a house."
"I would give some to my brother, my sister, charities," another said.
"I would go out of debt then I'd get into debt again," a third said.
"I'd go back to my old town; look out for everybody," a fourth said.
Of course, chances for any of that happening for any given person are slim. For Mega Millions, it's one in 259 million, while for Powerball, it is one in 292 million.
With slightly better odds, it is rare that no one has won a Mega Millions jackpot in months, which experts say could be caused by fewer players.
"It's crazy -- no one win it yet, so I hope somebody win it now after New Year's," a player said.
With a jackpot so big, Roy herself had to join in on the fun and got a ticket. Now it is time to wait until the first drawings of 2018 to see who the lucky winners will be – if anybody.
The next Mega Millions drawing is Tuesday, when the jackpot is estimated at $343 million. Powerball's big prize is expected to be $440 million on Wednesday.