Mega Millions Reset. Now Powerball Has the Weekend Spotlight at $707 Million
The jackpot baton has officially changed hands.
Tuesday night, one Florida ticket ended Mega Millions’ 38-drawing drought by winning an estimated $800 million. Wednesday night, nobody matched all six Powerball numbers. That sends Powerball into Saturday’s drawing at an estimated $707 million—the largest Powerball prize of 2026 and the only giant U.S. jackpot still rolling this weekend.
It is a dramatic switch. Mega Millions goes back to its starting jackpot for Friday night, while Powerball enters its 40th drawing in the current run on Saturday, August 1.
Wednesday Produced One Millionaire, Just Not the Jackpot Winner
The July 29 Powerball numbers were 30, 36, 40, 42, and 57, with red Powerball 2. The Power Play multiplier was 2X.
No ticket matched all six numbers, but one ticket sold in Maryland matched the five white balls and won $1 million. Another 21 tickets won either $50,000 or $100,000 by matching four white balls plus the Powerball, depending on whether Power Play was added.
That is why “no winner” headlines are misleading. They mean no jackpot winner. Wednesday’s drawing still created hundreds of thousands of prizes, including 22 tickets worth at least $50,000.
Check every line against LuckMaker’s latest lottery results, even after the jackpot rolls. Then save the ticket details in Ticket Vault so a smaller win does not disappear into a wallet, glove box, or laundry cycle.
From a $20 Million Split to $707 Million
Powerball’s jackpot was last won on May 2, when tickets in Florida and Texas split a $20 million prize. The jackpot has survived every drawing since.
By July 25, the run had reached its 37th drawing and produced six separate $1 million Match 5 winners in one night. Monday and Wednesday passed without a jackpot hit, setting up drawing number 40 on Saturday.
The jackpot odds remain 1 in 292.2 million, and the overall odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 24.9. A $707 million headline makes the possible reward larger; it does not make one combination more likely to land.
That distinction is exactly why players should check the LuckMaker Score at luckmaker3000.com/games before buying. The LuckMaker Score is our proprietary 0–100 game rating, comparing the current jackpot, odds, ticket price, and prize structure. LuckMaker covers 98 games across 25 U.S. states and 9 international markets, so Powerball’s billboard number is only one option on a much larger board.
Saturday’s Real Decision Is Cash Versus Annuity
The advertised $707 million is the annuity: an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year. A winner may instead choose the smaller one-time cash amount available in the prize pool.
Both figures are before federal taxes, and state or local taxes may also apply depending on where the ticket was purchased and where the winner lives. The automatic withholding at claim time may not cover the final tax bill.
Before turning the headline into a shopping list, run the prize through LuckMaker’s Lottery Tax Calculator. At this scale, the gap among advertised jackpot, cash option, withholding, and final take-home amount can reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
Do Not Copy Wednesday’s Numbers
The latest line had four even white balls and four white numbers between 30 and 42. That pattern looked unusual only after it appeared. Before the drawing, it had the same chance as every other valid combination.
Copying it for Saturday gives it no momentum. Neither does avoiding it. Drawings do not remember previous results.
If personal dates and familiar patterns keep pulling your picks into the same narrow range, use the Lucky Number Generator for a clean random line. It cannot predict Saturday’s drawing, but it can remove human pattern bias and reduce the temptation to treat last week’s numbers like clues.
The Weekend Bottom Line
Mega Millions’ long run is over. Powerball’s is still alive.
Saturday’s $707 million drawing is compelling because it is the biggest Powerball jackpot of the year, the 40th drawing in a run that began in May, and the only current U.S. jackpot above $700 million. That makes it worth watching—not worth abandoning a budget.
If you play, compare the LuckMaker Score, buy only what you planned to buy, store the ticket in Ticket Vault, and check the results after the 10:59 p.m. ET drawing. Jackpot fever is temporary. A disciplined ticket routine should not be.