***JACKPOT ALERT*** NATIONAL LOTTERY DAY ALIGNS WITH YEAR’S LARGEST MEGA MILLIONS® AND POWERBALL® JACKPOTS
“It’s a thrilling weekend for our players, as National Lottery Day arrives with two giant jackpots to play for,” said Courtney Arbour, executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which oversees the Texas Lottery.
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Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is the 10th largest in game history at an estimated $672 million; Saturday's Powerball Grand Prize stands at an estimated $526 million
AUSTIN — Texas Lottery® players have more than a billion reasons to dream big this weekend, with the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots combining for over $1.19 billion. The weekend excitement kicks off tonight, July 17 – coinciding with National Lottery Day – with an estimated annuitized Mega Millions jackpot of $672 million, offering a cash value option of $293.3 million. The momentum continues into the Saturday, July 18 Powerball drawing which has a Grand Prize set at an estimated annuitized $526 million, with a cash value of $233.5 million. The jackpot prizes are the largest offered by each game so far in 2026.
“It’s a thrilling weekend for our players, as National Lottery Day arrives with two giant jackpots to play for,” said Courtney Arbour, executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which oversees the Texas Lottery. “The excitement surrounding these multi-state games is creating extra buzz at retail locations across the state and boosting sales for both games in Texas, which directly impact the Texas Lottery’s primary mission of generating vital revenue for Texas public education. As the anticipation builds for the weekend’s drawings, we wish all Texas players good luck and remind everyone to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win.”
Tonight’s Mega Millions drawing will be the 35th in the current jackpot run since starting as an estimated annuitized $50 million on March 20. The current jackpot is the 10th largest in game history and the biggest since an estimated $983 million jackpot was won in Georgia for the Nov. 14, 2025 drawing. Texas has had 15 Mega Millions jackpot prize winners since it joined the game in 2003, most recently on Sept. 10, 2024. For that drawing, The Sol Living Trust, of Sugar Land, claimed the cash value option for the estimated annuitized $810 million jackpot prize. Ticket sales for tonight’s Mega Millions drawing will close at 9:45 p.m. CT. If there is no jackpot winner tonight, the prize will roll to an estimated $707 million for the drawing on Tuesday, July 21.
Saturday’s Powerball drawing marks the 33rd drawing in its current jackpot run. Since joining the game in 2010, Texas has had four jackpot winners, including two within the last year. In September 2025, the Seven Bridges Revocable Trust, of Fredericksburg claimed a share of the estimated $1.8 billion Grand Prize – the second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history – for the Sept. 6, 2025 drawing. Most recently, a Leander resident shared with an out-of-state winner the estimated annuitized $20 million Grand Prize that was advertised for the May 2 drawing. Powerball ticket sales for the next drawing close at 9 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 18. If no one matches all six numbers tomorrow night, the jackpot will roll to an estimated $544 million for the Monday, July 20 drawing. Saturday’s drawing will be one of the last before Powerball ticket sales begin in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, July 21 for the Wednesday, July 22 drawing. According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, the expansion could lead to larger and faster-growing jackpots, while the game’s $2 ticket price and jackpot odds remain unchanged.
Mega Millions and Powerball tickets are available at more than 19,000 Texas Lottery retailers statewide. Retailers who sell a jackpot-winning ticket for either game may be eligible for a $250,000 bonus under the Texas Lottery’s Retailer Bonus Program.
Friday, July 17, marks National Lottery Day, an annual observance recognizing the contributions lotteries in North America make to the communities they serve through support for public education, local businesses and other beneficiary programs. In fiscal year 2025, U.S. lotteries generated sales of over $109.3 billion, resulting in more than $28.4 billion for their beneficiaries.
About the Texas Lottery
The Texas Lottery’s functions and activities are administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating a broad range of professions, occupations and industries in Texas. Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $43 billion in revenue for the state and distributed more than $98 billion in prizes to lottery players. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed $37 billion to the Foundation School Fund, which supports public education in Texas. As authorized by the Texas Legislature, certain Texas Lottery revenues benefit state programs including the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Since the first veterans’ themed scratch ticket game was launched in 2009, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $306 million for programs supporting Texas veterans.
The Texas Lottery provides several entertaining games for lottery players including Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Lotto Texas®, All or Nothing™, Texas Two Step®, Pick 3™, Daily 4™, Cash Five® and scratch ticket games. For more information visit us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or at texaslottery.com. Must be 18 or older to purchase a ticket or enter a promotional second-chance drawing. PLAY RESPONSIBLY.
Editors/News Directors, note: A high-res image of the Powerball logo can be downloaded here and an image of the Powerball prize chart can be downloaded here. A high-res image of the Mega Millions logo can be downloaded here and an image of the Mega Millions prize chart can be downloaded here. (Right-click on the image for saving options.) When referring to the Texas Lottery as an organization, please use or say, “Texas Lottery” and not “Texas Lottery Commission.”
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