Powerball jackpot grows to $725 million after no winning ticket Wednesday
Powerball players now have the chance to win an estimated $725 million jackpot this weekend after Wednesday night's drawing produced no big winner.
Wednesday's numbers were 16, 27, 59, 62 and 63 with a Powerball of 23.
The $725 million jackpot for Saturday's drawing would be the third-largest Powerball prize this year, following a $754.6 million jackpot won in Washington state in February and the colossal $1.08 billion jackpot won in California in July. Saturday's jackpot also would be the eighth-largest prize in the game's history, the lottery said Wednesday.
If Saturday's drawing has one grand prize winner, that person could choose to take the whole jackpot in graduated payments over 29 years, or take a lump sum of an estimated $345.7 million, the lottery said.
Though no one secured the top prize Wednesday night, more than 1 million tickets won some type of prize – most of them taking $21 or less.
Two tickets, sold in Georgia and Texas, took $2 million each for matching the first five numbers and having activated a "power play" multiplier. Another ticket sold in Georgia won $1 million for matching the first five numbers without the multiplier.
Twenty-seven Powerball drawings have taken place since the $1.08 billion jackpot was won in July. That July drawing was only the third Powerball jackpot win that reached or surpassed $1 billion.