Powerball jackpot hits estimated $1.5 billion after no ticket won grand prize of roughly $1.25 billion
The Powerball jackpot leaped to an estimated $1.5 billion after no one won Wednesday night's pot of gold of approximately $1.25 billion.
The winning numbers for that grand prize were 25, 33, 53, 62 and 66 with a Powerball of 17.
The new jackpot has an estimated cash value of $686.5 million, Powerball said.
The $1.5 billion jackpot would be the game's second-biggest this year — a $1.787 billion jackpot was hit Sept. 6 in Missouri and Texas. It would also be the fifth-largest in Powerball history and the second instance of back-to-back Powerball jackpots topping $1 billion.
Wednesday's drawing was the 44th since the last time a jackpot was won — the longest such Powerball run.
To win the grand prize, a ticket must match the five white balls pulled during the drawing as well as the red Powerball. A single jackpot winner would have the choice of a lump sum payment estimated at $686.5 million or a payout via an annuity that would consist of one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year. Both options are before taxes.
The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball, but lottery jackpots have exploded in size over the last decade. While the prizes are huge, the odds of winning remain exceptionally low.
In 2022, a single ticket sold in Altadena, California, claimed a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in both Powerball and lottery history. The first Powerball drawing was in 1992.
Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and cost $2 each.
Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m. ET.