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Mega Millions jackpot soars to $970 million, Powerball grows to $430M

Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is inching closer to the $1 billion mark.
Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A customer buys Powerball tickets at Kavanagh Liquors on January 13, 2016 in San Lorenzo, California.

The line for lottery tickets at your nearby convenience store is about to get even longer.

One night after the largest jackpot in Mega Millions history rolled to Friday, Powerball's $378 million prize survived to the next drawing, meaning that the United States' two big lottery games will have a combined $1.3 billion up for grabs at week's end.

The winning Powerball numbers on Wednesday night: 3, 57, 64, 68, 69 and Powerball 15. The next drawing is Saturday at 11 p.m. EDT.

Next up, Friday night's record-breaking Mega Millions, which has grown to $970 million, the second-largest in U.S. history.

How hard can it be to pick six lousy numbers?

Well, how about 302,575,350 to 1. Those were the odds on Tuesday night, which helps explain why no one grabbed the Mega Millions jackpot.

If had your heart set on Powerball on Wednesday night, you certainly had a better chance, with odds of 292,201,388 to 1.

But if you are banking on winning both, let's get realistic: The odds for pocketing the two jackpots are 1 in 88 quadrillion, according to CNBC.

In fact, you are 258 times more likely to be struck by lightning this year than win the Mega Millions lottery, according to data from the National Weather Service.

Or, with odds of 1 in 3,748,067, you are 80 times more likely to be killed by a shark this year than win Mega Millions, the International Shark Attack File reported.

At 1 in 700,000, women are 432 times more likely to give birth to identical quadruplets than win the lottery.

No one beat those long odds Tuesday night, but one lucky ticket did come fairly close. Someone in the Bay Area matched five of the six Mega Millions numbers, according to the California Lottery – for a hefty $1.9 million.

The biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was $1.6 billion in the Powerball on Jan. 13, 2016. Three tickets – from California, Florida and Tennessee – matched all the numbers.

The Mega Millions drawing will be at 11 p.m. EDT on Friday. The cash option, as of Wednesday night, was a whopping $513 million.

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