PA lottery players can't purchase tickets Tuesday to Mega Millions, Powerball drawings

Damon C. Williams and Dana Massing, Bucks County Courier Times
·3 min read

Looking to purchase a ticket to Tuesday's Mega Millions Drawing, which has an estimated $875 million jackpot? Then you may have to give serious consideration to heading to Delaware or New Jersey and buying tickets there.

The Pennsylvania Lottery Commission is upgrading its computer system, and ticket sales won't be available during the downtime.

"The Pennsylvania Lottery is modernizing its systems. Most of the upgrades are happening to our systems and portals on March 19th; and that means lottery sales terminals at Lottery retail locations will be temporarily unavailable during that time," read a portion of an update on the Pennsylvania Lottery's website. "Lottery drawings will continue."

Mega Millions, Powerball jackpots nearing $1 billion

The Mega mIllions drawing will be held at 11 p.m. Tuesday, and has a cash option of $413.5 million.

The next Powerball drawing is Wed., March 20. The jackpot for the next Powerball drawing is $687 million, with a $327.3 Million cash option.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is disabling sales through Tues., March 19, as it upgrades its computer system. That means players will not be able to purchase Mega Millions nor Powerball tickets on Tuesday.
The Pennsylvania Lottery is disabling sales through Tues., March 19, as it upgrades its computer system. That means players will not be able to purchase Mega Millions nor Powerball tickets on Tuesday.

Another Bucks County lottery winner: Winning Pennsylvania Lottery ticket sold in Bucks County

Can I still buy other Pennsylvania Lottery tickets online?

The upgrade to the lottery system is impacting more than just the Mega Millions and Powerball drawings. It will also affect how and when you can redeem any winnings.

"On March 19, draw games, like Powerball and Mega Millions, won't be available for purchase on palottery.com for a brief period; however, eInstant games will be available to play," read the alert from the Pennsylvania Lottery. "In preparation for the upgrade, it will also take a little longer than usual to process claims during the month of March. In addition, you will not be able to redeem PA Lottery retail coupons between March 15 - 20, 2024."

What else does the upgrade mean for Pennsylvania lottery players?

While not being able to purchase Mega Millions and Powerball tickets on Tuesday is the big takeaway, the upgrade will also impact lottery players in other ways.

Pennsylvania Lottery upgrades system: Pennsylvania Lottery computer upgrade will affect players' ability to buy, cash tickets

  • Players won’t be able to buy any Fast Play tickets or Draw Game tickets at Pennsylvania Lottery retail locations or online. That includes tickets for Treasure Hunt, Cash 5 with Quick Cash, Match 6 Lotto, Cash4Life and the Pick games.

  • Players will be able to purchase scratch-off tickets at the counter and at vending machines at lottery retailers using cash only.

  • No vouchers will be able to be produced or used during the transition.

  • Winning tickets won’t be able to be paid during this time period. For winning scratch-off tickets, officials encourage players to sign the back of their tickets and hold on to them until they can be claimed once the system upgrade is complete.

  • Results of some drawings might not be posted to the Pennsylvania Lottery website until the system upgrade is complete.

Bucks County's curious lottery winning streak

System upgrade aside, buying lottery tickets in Bucks County may be the shrewd play, given the county's recent string of lottery hits.

In early January, a 7-Eleven in Southampton sold the winning "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" progressive lottery ticket from the Pennsylvania Lottery, worth $451,760.

Last June, a winning $3 million Diamonds and Gold ticket was sold at the Speedway at 724 Street Road in Southampton.

Last August, a winning Pennsylvania Lottery ticket worth $100,000 was sold at the 7-Eleven at 2760 Trenton Road in Middletown.

What is the largest Mega Millions jackpot?

  1. $1.602 billion – Aug. 8, 2023 – Florida

  2. $1.537 billion – Oct. 23, 2018 – South Carolina

  3. $1.348 billion – Jan. 13, 2023 – Maine

  4. $1.337 billion – July 29, 2022 – Illinois

  5. $1.05 billion – Jan. 22, 2021 – Michigan

  6. $656 million – March 30, 2012 – Illinois, Kansas, Maryland

  7. $648 million – Dec. 17, 2013 – California, Georgia

  8. $543 million – July 24, 2018 - California

  9. $536 million – July 8, 2026 – Indiana

  10. $533 million – March 30, 2018 – New Jersey

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania Lottery players can't purchase Mega Millions tickets