Powerball estimated jackpot rises to $1.25 billion, 6th biggest in its history
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Powerball's jackpot rose to an estimated $1.25 billion after no tickets came up winners of Monday night's grand prize of roughly $1.14 billion.
The winning numbers for that drawing were 23, 35, 59, 63 and 68 with a Powerball of 2.
The latest pot of gold would be the sixth-largest in Powerball's history and the second-biggest Powerball grand prize this year — a $1.787 billion jackpot was hit Sept. 6 in Missouri and Texas.
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It's also only the second time the game has had back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots.
Wednesday's drawing will be 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. The possible winner or winners would get to choose between the estimated $1.25 billion jackpot paid out in an annuity or as an up-front lump-sum payment estimated at $572.1 million, both before taxes.
Powerball tickets are $2 each and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are extraordinarily low — 1 in 292.2 million.
In general, lottery jackpots have exploded in size over the last decade.
When Powerball launched in 1992, the first jackpot was $5.9 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. Now, the largest Powerball jackpot on record was the $2.04 billion prize won on Nov. 7, 2022.
Mega Millions followed a similar path. Its first jackpot winner in 2002 took home $28 million. Its record prize — a $1.602 billion jackpot won on Aug. 8, 2023 — ranks as the fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
Twelve out of the 20 largest jackpots have occurred since 2023.
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