As of 5 p.m. Thursday evening, Friday’s Mega Millions top prize hit $970 million. (Lizz Giordano / The Herald)

As of 5 p.m. Thursday evening, Friday’s Mega Millions top prize hit $970 million. (Lizz Giordano / The Herald)

Billion-dollar jackpot is at stake in tonight’s drawing

It would be the biggest payout ever for Mega Millions. If you prefer cash up front, it’s $565 million.

EVERETT — Forget the odds. Focus on decadence.

The drawing for Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is $1 billion, the game’s highest ever. That value is an increase from Thursday, when it was $970 million.

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is $430 million and climbing.

Tickets are $2 for each lottery.

So, for plunking down $4, that’s a sweet payoff. Enough to buy planes, islands, a house in Seattle and maybe the U.S. presidency.

Retailers locally and nationwide reported an uptick in sales Thursday, with a frenzy expected Friday.

Jay Weaver, 55, an Everett seafood delivery driver, bought more than $40 in tickets for both lotteries at the Chevron station at Rucker Avenue and 41st Street.

“Somebody’s got to win this. Why not me?” Weaver said.

He already had it spent.

“My plan is to buy a bunch of motorhomes and caravan the United States,” he said. “And give everybody in my family a million dollars. I’d retire. My daughter would never have to work.”

Jay Weaver of Everett holds tickets he bought Thursday at the Chevron station at Rucker Avenue and 41st Street. “Somebody’s got to win this. Why not me?” he said. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)

Jay Weaver of Everett holds tickets he bought Thursday at the Chevron station at Rucker Avenue and 41st Street. “Somebody’s got to win this. Why not me?” he said. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)

Ernest Swanigan, 41, of Everett, spent $8 for Mega Million tickets at the gas station.

If he wins?

“I’d probably invest,” said Swanigan, a college student and Army retiree. “I’d be normal, the same person, I think, I hope … Everybody says that now.”

Mega Millions’ $1 billion has a lump-sum option of $565 million. Or you can take an annuity option, with an immediate payment followed by 29 annual checks. The Powerball cash payout on $430 million is $248 million.

Why do the jackpots get so high?

Because they are so hard to hit, basically.

You have to match all six winning numbers — five in one pool and the sixth in a separate pool for the ball that seals the deal.

The freak chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 302 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.

So the pots keep rolling over.

The Mega Millions jackpot was last won July 24 by a California office pool of 11 workers sharing $543 million.

Powerball holds the highest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, almost $1.6 billion, in January 2016.

If you win in Washington, your family, friends and strangers will know. The lottery is subject to the state Public Records Act. Several states let you hide your identity.

The Mega Millions drawing is at 8 p.m. Pacific time Friday. Ticket sales are cut off at 7:45 p.m. Better not wait until the last minute. With all the hype, sales will likely pick up with stragglers deciding they want in on the action.

There are a total of nine ways to win a prize in Mega Millions, with the lowest being $2 if you get the yellow Mega ball only. So there’s a chance — 1 in 37 to be exact — you might get your $2 back.

If so, and nobody hits Friday’s jackpot, you can re-invest that $2 in Saturday’s Powerball. Or not.

Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

‘Voter friendly’ election ballots set to go out for Snohomish County voters

Materials will include some changes to make the process easier to vote in Aug. 5 primary.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Edmonds police officers investigate a shooting that occurred at 236/Edmonds Way Thursday in Edmonds, Washington. (Edmonds Police Department).
Jury convicts Edmonds man in fatal shooting of rideshare driver

After three hours, a 12-person jury convicted Alex Waggoner, 22, of second-degree murder for shooting Abdulkadir Shariif, 31, in January 2024.

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard
Angelina Godoy, director of the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, speaks to reporters alongside advocates outside Boeing Field in Seattle on Tuesday.
Deportation flights at WA airport up dramatically this year, advocates say

Activists also say King County officials aren’t being transparent enough about the flights in and out of Boeing Field.

Smoke shrouds the hilltops as the Bolt Creek Fire burns through thick forest in 2022 on U.S. Highway 2 near Index. Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras placed in 21 high-risk wildfire locations around Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Online feeds from WA’s wildfire detection cameras are now available

Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.