Powerball jackpot hits $1 billion after no winning tickets sold for $922 million grand prize
No winning tickets were sold for Monday night's $922 million Powerball jackpot, lottery officials said, so the grand prize for Wednesday night's drawing will be an estimated $1 billion. The numbers drawn Tuesday night were 5, 8, 9, 17, 41 and a Powerball of 21.
The cash value for Wednesday night's pot of gold would be roughly $516.8 million as things stand now.
But jackpots increase if ticket sales surge ahead of drawings so Wednesday night's jackpot could well top $1 billion.
Monday night's jackpot increased to an estimated $900 million after nobody won Saturday night and surged again Monday as more people bought tickets.
Wednesday night's jackpot would be the third-largest in Powerball history and seventh-highest in U.S. lottery history, trailing only the world record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won last year and the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016.
With the odds of winning just 1 in 292,201,338, there have been 38 drawings since the Powerball jackpot was last claimed in April.
Monday night's drawing did have more than 2.8 million winning tickets, with buyers getting smaller cash prizes worth a combined $41.7 million, Powerball officials said.
If someone had won Monday night, they would have had the option to claim the $922 million in annual payouts or a lump sum cash payment of considerably less, according to Powerball. Both figures were before taxes.
Debbie Kempf, store director at Cosentino's Price Chopper in St. Joseph, Missouri, said the store sees an increase in sales as the jackpot gets bigger.
"As it grows and the hype increases, you know, everyone gets kind of excited. So that's where you get all those people who don't generally buy tickets, think, 'Why not? Why not me?'" Kempf said, adding that she also sees "your regulars" who buy tickets every week but may buy a few more as the jackpot increases.
"Sometimes you'll see groups of people or families go together and pool their money and to purchase a larger amount — you know, more opportunity," she said.
Winning Powerball numbers are drawn every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Powerball tickets cost $2 each. They're sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Mega Millions lottery has also been steadily growing, with that estimated jackpot standing at $640 million as of Monday night. Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays.