Powerball & Mega Millions jackpots soar past a billion dollars for first fall drawing

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WPDE) — The Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots create a combined total of more than a billion dollars for this first week of fall.

Monday night's Powerball draws for $785 million, which is the game’s fourth-largest jackpot. Tuesday night, the Mega Millions draws for $230 million.

Tickets are $2 and can be purchased up until one hour before the drawings are held.

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FILE - A Mega Millions play-slip for those players preferring to choose the numbers they want to play is among the stacks of other lottery game play-slips displayed in Cranberry Township, Pa., Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Lottery officials have raised the Mega Millions grand prize to $660 million Thursday, July 21, 2022, giving players a shot at the nation's ninth largest jackpot. The prize for Friday night's drawing has grown large because there hasn't been a winner in three months, from its $20 million starting point in April. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

The previous Powerball and Mega Millions draw saw nearly 40,000 winning tickets sold across the state.

The Powerball drawing happens Monday at 10:59 p.m. and Mega Millions draws at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

Powerball jackpot odds are one in 293 million and Mega Millions jackpot odds are one in 303 million.