An estimated $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot is up for grabs during Wednesday night’s drawing, setting the stage for a lucky player to potentially win what would be the second largest prize in the game’s history.
The grand prize has continued to balloon after weeks of drawings with no jackpot winner.
If a player matches all six numbers Wednesday to nab the jackpot, they’ll be able to choose between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.73 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $756.6 million, both before taxes, Powerball says on its website.
If won, the big prize on the line Wednesday would also mark the second largest US lottery jackpot in history, only behind the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won November 2022 in California, according to Powerball.
There have been no Powerball jackpot winners since July 19, when a single ticket sold in California nabbed a grand prize worth $1.08 billion.
Still, there have been some big winners in recent drawings.
In Monday night’s drawing, four tickets in California, Indiana, Oregon, Virginia matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Prizes in California may vary depending on ticket sales and number of winners.
Another ticket, sold in Florida, matched five numbers and used the “Power Play” feature to increase the prize to $2 million, according to Powerball.
The upcoming drawing will be the 36th in this jackpot run. It’s the first time in Powerball’s history that back-to-back cycles have generated billion-dollar grand prizes, Powerball said in a news release.
Overall, the odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. But the odds of winning the jackpot are much slimmer, at 1 in 292.2 million, Powerball says.
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