With no one winning the US Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, the grand prize for this weekend’s draw has passed the billion-dollar mark, according to the lottery.
Wednesday’s winning numbers were: 37, 46, 57, 60, 66 and Powerball 8.
The $US935 million ($1.4 billion) Powerball jackpot in play on Saturday jumped from $US865 million ($1.3 billion) after no tickets matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing.
It would be the fifth-largest prize in the history of the game.
A jackpot winner in Saturday’s drawing could choose to receive the money in annuitised payments or take a lump sum estimated at $US449.7 million ($689 million).
Although no jackpot was won on Wednesday, three tickets still won $US1 million ($1.5 million) each by matching the first five numbers.
Those tickets were sold in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to the Powerball website.
This is the first Powerball jackpot to surpass $US900 million ($1.3 billion) this year.
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Powerball’s grand prize was last won in January, when a ticket in Michigan scored a $US842 million ($1.29 billion) jackpot.
Since then, 37 consecutive drawings have taken place without a jackpot winner, according to Powerball.
The largest Powerball jackpot – and the largest US lottery prize – ever won was $US2.04 billion ($3 billion) by a ticket purchased in California in November 2022, according to the lottery.
Saturday’s estimated $US935 million ($1.4 billion) jackpot would rank fifth on Powerball’s all-time list.
Ranking second through fourth are $US1.765 billion ($2.7 billion) (one ticket in California; 2023); $US1.586 billion ($2.4 billion) (three tickets; 2016); and $US1.08 billion ($1.6 billion) (one ticket in California, 2023).
Winning the Powerball jackpot means a ticket matched all five white balls plus the red Powerball.
The odds of winning any prize in a Powerball drawing are 1 in 24.9, and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
Powerball tickets cost $US2 ($3) per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Drawings are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in Tallahassee, Florida.
