(NEW YORK) — The Powerball jackpot has grown to $1 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing, the game’s third-largest prize ever.
The jackpot has a cash value of $516.8 million, before taxes.
The Powerball, which was last hit on April 19, has now had 38 consecutive drawings without a winner.
The winner would have the choice between annual payments over 30 years, which increase by 5% each year, or a lump sum payment.
“This has turned into a historic jackpot run; this is only the third time in Powerball’s 31-year history that a jackpot has reached the billion-dollar threshold,” said Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania Lottery executive director. “It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes. If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery.”
The biggest jackpot in Powerball history was a $2.04 billion prize claimed by a man in Altadena, California, in November 2022. The only other time the Powerball jackpot crossed a billion was when three tickets won a $1.586 billion prize in January 2016.
The drawing will be held just before 11 p.m. ET.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.
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