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Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots total estimated $637 million
Powerball and Mega Millions carried estimated annuity jackpots of $360 million and $277 million before their September 26 and September 25 drawings, while two recent North Carolina Powerball prizes rose to $250,000 each.
North Carolina players were approaching a weekend with two major lottery drawings carrying an estimated $637 million in combined jackpots, the North Carolina Education Lottery said September 25, 2026. The total brought the advertised Powerball and Mega Millions prizes above $600 million at the same time.
Mega Millions was scheduled to draw first, on Friday, September 25, 2026. The estimated jackpot for that drawing was $277 million when paid as an annuity, according to the lottery.
The lottery listed the estimated cash value of the Mega Millions prize at $117.3 million. That figure was provided alongside the annuity estimate for the Friday drawing.
Powerball was scheduled for the following day, Saturday, September 26, 2026. Its estimated jackpot stood at $360 million when paid as an annuity.
The estimated cash value of the Powerball jackpot was $153.6 million. Combined with the Mega Millions cash-value estimate of $117.3 million, the two advertised prizes represented more than $270 million in stated cash values, although the lottery presented the jackpots separately by game.
Readers looking for current draw information can check the latest Mega Millions results and latest Powerball results.
The jackpot update also included two substantial North Carolina Powerball prizes from the September 23 drawing. Both tickets matched four white balls and the red Powerball, producing prizes initially valued at $50,000 with the Power Play feature.
The 5X multiplier drawn in that game increased each of those two prizes to $250,000. The multiplier applied to both qualifying North Carolina tickets, turning the two $50,000 prizes into awards five times as large.
One of the winning Powerball tickets was purchased at Will’s Food Store III on Dallas High Shoals Highway in Dallas, North Carolina. The other was purchased at All American Raceway on Millersville Road in Taylorsville, North Carolina.
The lottery separately reported broad prize activity from the September 22 Mega Millions drawing. More than 5,800 winning tickets were produced in North Carolina in that drawing, adding another layer of state-level activity before the next advertised jackpots.
The official jackpot odds listed by the lottery were 1 in 290 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292 million for Powerball. Those figures applied to the respective jackpot games identified in the September 25 update.
Players could purchase Powerball and Mega Millions tickets at lottery retail locations. The lottery also said tickets were available through Online Play on its website and through the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
The immediate focus remained on the two scheduled drawings: Mega Millions with an estimated $277 million annuity jackpot on Friday and Powerball with an estimated $360 million annuity jackpot on Saturday. Alongside those pending prizes, the recent $250,000 Powerball awards and the thousands of Mega Millions winning tickets showed the range of North Carolina prize activity highlighted by the lottery.