SC Lottery officials talk about Mega Millions, Powerball ahead of drawings

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Mega Millions and Powerball totals are steadily increasing and getting closer to a historic rate.

“The powerball and the mega millions jackpot when they’re added together this week, they total more than one billion dollars,” said Holli Armstrong, Communications Coordinator with the South Carolina Lottery.

The Mega Millions total has been adjusted to $615 million while the Powerball total is now $550 million.

This would mark the second time that both jackpots combined have equaled out to be greater than $1 billion.

The last time this happened was in October 2018, when the winning ticket was actually purchased in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Armstrong explained how the adjustments are figured out for each drawing.

“This is an indicator that sales nationally are strong because the jackpot is based on sales, so when you see an adjustment that just means that a lot of people are playing and are interested in taking a chance on the jackpot,” she said.

Although no one has won the jackpot yet, more than 70,000 people in South Carolina experienced some sort of winnings during last weekend’s drawing.

Armstrong gave some examples of what people did with their jackpot winnings.

“Most winners here in South Carolina, they want to do what anyone else would want to do. They want to give to their family, some want to give to their church. They want to help others,” said Armstrong.

I also decided to take it a step further and reach out to people via Facebook to see what they would do if they were to win the jackpot.

Some of those answers can be seen below:

Before you head to your local gas station and convenience store to buy a ticket and participate in the drawing, Armstrong had one last thing to tell potential players.

“The odds of winning are long. For Powerball, you’re looking at around one and 293 million, for Mega Millions, one and 303 million, so we encourage everyone to play smart…play in moderation, and please play responsibly.”

Holli Armstrong, SC Lottery

The drawing for the Mega Millions will take place on Tuesday, January 12 at 11:00 pm while the drawing for the Powerball will happen on Wednesday, January 13 at 10:59 pm.