The US Powerball jackpot swelled to an estimated $US1.55 billion ($2.4 billion) for Monday night’s drawing after weeks with no grand prize winner.
The new mammoth prize up for grabs ranks as the third-largest Powerball jackpot and fourth-largest among US lottery jackpots, according to Powerball’s website.
If a player matches all six numbers to win the jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitised prize worth an estimated $US1.55 billion ($2.4 billion) or a lump sum payment estimated at $US679.8 million ($1.06 billion) – both before taxes, Powerball said.
The grand prize grew on Saturday after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn, 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19.
There have been no Powerball jackpot winners since July 19, when a single ticket sold in California nabbed a grand prize worth $US1.08 billion ($1.69 billion).
The upcoming drawing will be the 35th in this jackpot run. It’s the first time in Powerball’s history that back-to-back cycles have generated billion-dollar grand prizes, Powerball said in a news release.
While no one scored the jackpot during the last drawing Saturday, there were still some big wins.
Ten tickets matched five numbers to win $US1 million ($1.5 million) prizes in California, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.
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Another two tickets, sold in Iowa and Maine, matched all five white balls and won $US2 million ($3.1 million) each because their holders activated a “power play” multiplier, Powerball said.
Overall, the odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9.
But the odds of winning the jackpot are much slimmer, at 1 in 292.2 million, Powerball says.
The largest Powerball Jackpot ever won was a $US2.04 billion ($3.2 billion) prize from November 2022, followed by a $US1.586 billion ($2.4 billion) jackpot won in January 2016.
All figures in this story are in Australian dollars.
