The odds are, as usual, overwhelmingly against a single ticket winning the top jackpots in the Mega Millions and Powerball games offered through the Georgia Lottery.

But some people have broken through with some sizable prizes lately in various games in Georgia. So inevitably, people will begin buying tickets for the Mega Millions drawing Friday night ($393 million jackpot) and the Powerball drawing ($356 million) Saturday.

Consider:

  • A Mega Millions ticket worth $1 million was sold Tuesday in West Point. The winner has not come forward to claim the money.
  • A Fantasy Five player won $385,756 Wednesday, with the winning ticket being sold in Valdosta.
  • A Cumming man, Roger Duckworth, came away with $962,742 in a Fantasy Five drawing July 30.

Both lottery jackpots being in the $300 million-plus category at the same time is rarer than a solar eclipse.

People were buying lottery tickets Friday at a store in west Georgia. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)
icon to expand image

Now for the sobering part. The odds of winning the big Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 258 million. And the odds of securing the top Powerball take are 1 in 292 million.

The Mega Millions drawing can be seen at 11 p.m. Friday, right before Channel 2 Action News. The same goes for the Powerball drawing Saturday night.

In other news:

Fulton County watershed crews are lowering a camera into the sinkhole.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Lead Nurse Practitioner Lori Reed examines a Covid patient at Piedmont Pulmonary Covid Recovery Clinic in Atlanta in 2022. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mostly attributed the nationwide rise in life expectancy to fewer deaths caused by the infectious disease. (Steve Schaefer/AJC file)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Featured

Managing Partner at Atlantica Properties, Darion Dunn (center) talks with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens during a tour following the ribbon cutting of Waterworks Village as part of the third phase of the city’s Rapid Housing Initiative on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez