The Powerball jackpot has reached astonishing heights, with an estimated $875 million up for grabs in this weekend’s drawing. This mind-boggling sum places it as the third-largest prize ever offered in the history of the game.
Powerball reaches a world record
In a spectacular streak of rollovers, no ticket managed to match the six winning numbers in Wednesday night’s draw, extending the jackpot’s growth for the 36th consecutive time. Anticipating an influx of eager participants, officials from the Multi-State Lottery Association, responsible for operating Powerball across its 48 participating jurisdictions, expect an incredible surge in ticket sales leading up to Saturday’s drawing.
The grand prize of $875 million boasts a cash value estimated at $441.9 million. To put it in perspective, the cash prize for Wednesday’s drawing already stood at a jaw-dropping $367.9 million, indicating that Powerball authorities predict sales between Wednesday and Saturday evening to surpass the $100 million mark!
It’s worth noting that approximately 68 cents of every $2 spent on a Powerball ticket contributes towards the cash-sum jackpot. The advertised jackpot, set as a 30-year annuity, hinges on the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate.
Both Powerball and Mega Millions distribute their annuity jackpots through US Treasury-insured bonds, with interest rates linked to federal interest rates. Consequently, as interest rates have risen over the past year, annuitized lottery jackpots have experienced an accelerated escalation.
At an astonishing $875 million, the current jackpot proudly claims the seventh position in the nation’s lottery annals.
To break into the top five, the jackpot would need to surpass $1.33 billion, a feat achieved by Mega Millions on July 29, 2022. Meanwhile, Powerball holds the coveted top two positions, with jaw-dropping jackpots of $2.04 billion won on November 7, 2022, and a staggering $1.58 billion claimed on January 13, 2016.
The specifics of the jackpot
While the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot stand at a staggering one in 292.2 million, the overall odds of scoring some form of prize are one in 24.9. In Wednesday’s drawing, although the jackpot remained unclaimed, more than 1.8 million tickets secured lower-tier prizes worth a combined $16.5 million.
The July 12 draw produced two lucky winners—one from Florida and another from Indiana—who matched all five white numbers, falling just short of the red Powerball. Each walked away with the game’s second-place prize of $1 million.
Additionally, 36 tickets successfully matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball, earning $50,000 each. Of these winners, 26 had purchased the $1 add-on Power Play option, tripling their winnings to an impressive $150,000 when the Power Play multiplier of 3x came into play.
But the excitement doesn’t end there! Mega Millions is also turning heads with its own escalating jackpot, which currently stands at a staggering $560 million. The next Mega Millions drawing will take place on Friday night at 11 p.m. EST. According to Mega Millions officials, this marks only the seventh occasion in the game’s 21-year history that the jackpot has soared above the $550 million threshold.
Of course, the odds of capturing the Mega Millions jackpot are even slimmer than those of Powerball, standing at approximately one in 302.5 million. But hey, someone has to be the lucky winner, right? Will you be the one to defy the odds and claim the incredible jackpot?
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