$1 billion Powerball jackpot: What to expect from tonight's draw?
Powerball prize money of $1 billion would be third-largest ever produced by lottery which is organised across 45 states
July 19, 2023
The US citizens are waiting for the draw of the country’s seventh biggest lottery prize Powerball Wednesday night as the prize money has been jacked up to 1$ billion with no winner coming to the fore despite 38 consistent draws.
The winning ticket was not yet sold, according to the Powerball website.
The last who won the Powerball was on 19 April, when the amount was near $253 million, the jackpot has been increasing since then.
The prize money of $1 billion would be the third-largest ever produced by the 31-year-old lottery which is organised across 45 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
That fortunate winner would have two options to get the money; in annual increments over 29 years; at a one-time, lump sum of nearly $517 million before taxes.
The latest scheduled Powerball draw comes after nine months as California’s Edwin Castro claimed a historic $2.04 billion prize in November last year and opted for a lump sum of more than $997.6 million.
He utilised his money by investing less than 3% of his prize to buy a $25.5 million mansion in the ritzy Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, becoming a neighbour to celebrities such as singer Ariana Grande, actor Dakota Johnson, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
To win the Powerball, players must buy $2 tickets while matching each of the numbers on five white balls and a red one, according to a Guardian report.
It is near impossible to do that. According to Powerball officials, the odds of winning their particular lottery is one in 292 million. And there isn’t much players can do to improve their chances.
Because of the odds, it is not unusual for the prize to remain unclaimed until a growing prize money brings in more players with tickets to cover more possible number combinations.
“It is not unheard of for a handful of Powerball players to match all of the numbers on the five white balls before missing out on the red one. While those players don’t get to claim the top prize, they do get relatively decent sums of money as consolation,” the Guardian report said.
The draw on Sunday did not see any winner, five people who matched numbers on five white balls are in line for $1 million. The buyers were in Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The three players who paid an additional fee said as a Power Play option and matched the numbers of five white balls claimed $2 million prizes. That group of near-jackpot winners acquired their tickets in Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas.
According to the website LouisianBets.com, Indiana produced the most Powerball winners with 39.
Missouri, with 31 Powerball winners, Minnesota (22), Wisconsin (19), Pennsylvania (19), Kentucky (18), Louisiana (17), Florida (16), Arizona (14), Kansas (12), New York (12) and California (12) round out the rest of the top 10.
