CA MEGA Millions is bigger than ever! Match 6 numbers for a chance to be the next multi million dollar winner! Drawings are every Tuesday and Friday evenings with record-breaking jackpots as high as $656 Million!
If winning numbers is your name, POWERBALL is your game! With weekly draws on Wednesday and Saturday, and 9 different ways to win, ordering POWERBALL tickets is the best way to chase your dreams!
From SoCal to North CA, SuperLotto Plus remains a top pick for locals. This classic game pays out big prizes and great odds all across the Golden State every Wednesday and Saturday!
Whether you are playing the California Lottery now or are interested in getting started, your goal in playing is sure to be all about hitting the jackpot. So what do you need to know about those jackpots? Which lotteries offer those mega-jackpots that we see all over the news? When do California Lottery jackpot drawings happen? It is also essential to know how to play, and when to play in order to enter on time for those jackpot drawings – and just how long you will have to claim any prizes you score with those lucky numbers.
The most popular lottery games, or draw games, offered in California are Powerball, Mega Millions and SuperLotto Plus. All offer mega-jackpots, and tickets for all three are available from licensed California lottery vendors or can be bought conveniently – and securely – online.
Powerball is a multi-state mega-jackpot lottery that offers a minimum jackpot prize of 40 million, but has risen much higher – as high as $1.6 billion in January, 2016. To enter California Powerball, you pick 5 numbers from 1 to 69 and a single Powerball number from 1 to 26. You can also let the computer pick your numbers randomly, a service called Quick Pick. Winning the jackpot means matching all 6 numbers that are drawn by lottery officials on drawing night – the 5 regular ones and the 1 Powerball number. Matching fewer numbers can score you smaller prizes.
Mega Millions is another multi-state mega-jackpot lottery. The minimum jackpot for this game is $15 million, but jackpots as large as $656 million have been handed over to lucky Mega Millions winners. Entering to win this California Lottery jackpot means picking 5 numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega number from 1 to 25 – or letting Quick Pick choose them for you.
If all 5 of your regular numbers and your Mega number are drawn by lottery officials, you are the jackpot winner. If you match just some of the numbers, you may win a smaller prize.
SuperLotto Plus is a California-only lottery, and the largest draw game offered by the California State Lottery. The minimum jackpot for this California lotto game is $7 million, but jackpots as large as $193 million have been paid out to SuperLotto Plus jackpot winners. To enter SuperLotto Plus, you pick 5 numbers from 1 to 47 and 1 Mega number from 1 to 27, or have them picked for you randomly with Quick Pick. Match all 6 numbers drawn by California lottery officials and you are the jackpot winner. Matching some numbers can earn you a smaller prize.
So now that you know which lotto games have those mega-jackpots and how to play them, the next thing to know is when these lotteries close and when the winning numbers are drawn.
If you are reading this on a Wednesday or Saturday, POWERBALL is tonight. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, you only have until 7 pm (Pacific time) to get them, since draw entry closes at that time. Keep in mind that being in line before closing time will not get you a ticket – you have to actually have your numbers picked and your tickets paid for before the clock strikes 7. The drawings happens shortly after the close of ticket sales on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.
Wednesdays and Saturdays are also SuperLotto Plus nights. If you have not entered yet, you have until 7:45 to buy your tickets and get in the game. After draw entry closes at 7:45 on Wednesday or Saturday evenings, the drawings are held to select the winning numbers.
If you happen to be reading this on a Tuesday or Friday, tonight is MEGA Millions night. The winning numbers for Mega Millions play are drawn on these nights every week, and if you have not got your entry in yet, you need to buy your tickets by 7:45 pm, the cut-off time for ticket sales on drawing nights. Drawings are held shortly after that cut-off time.
For all three of the draw games we have gone over here, your ticket is good for 180 days. That is how long you will have to formally claim any prizes you may have won. If you have won an amount that is $599 or less, and have bought your ticket from a local retailer, you can claim your prize in cash from that retailer.
Prizes of any size can be claimed by downloading a claim form from the California Lottery website, then visiting your local California Lottery office with that form and your winning ticket.
A third option is to download the claim form and mail it and your winning ticket to the California lottery office. Just be sure that your winning ticket and claim form are received by the lottery office or are postmarked before that 180 day deadline.
If you bought your tickets online via LottoGopher, claiming your prize is easier. Amounts of $599 or less will be automatically credited to your account within 24 hours. For amounts larger than $600, you can choose to have one of our representatives collect your prize in person from the California Lottery office on your behalf, sending you a check within five business days, or you can have the winning ticket sent directly to you so you can bring it to the lottery office yourself.
