DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The bad news is that no one won Wednesday night’s huge $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot.
FILE – A rack with cards bettors can use to choose their own numbers to purchase lottery tickets for the Saturday Oct. 29, drawing of the Powerball lottery, are seen on a counter at a market in Prospect, Pa., Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. The fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history could soar to the largest ever if no one wins the top prize in Wednesday, Nov. 2, Powerball drawing. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
The good news is that means the prize has grown even larger to $1.5 billion ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. That is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
The numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 2, 11, 22, 35, 60 and the red powerball 23.
A sign shows the current jackpot for the Powerball lottery, $1.2 billion, as it hangs in the reflective window of a convenience store in Miami, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022. The jackpot climbed to $1.2 billion after no one matched all six numbers to win. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
No one has won the top Powerball prize since Aug. 3, making for 39 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all six numbers.
What’s behind three months of lottery futility? It’s simple math. The odds of winning the jackpot are an abysmal 1 in 292.2 million.
It is because of those long odds that the grand prize has grown so large.
The new $1.5 billion prize is actually for winners who opt for an annuity, paid out annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners choose cash, which for Saturday’s drawing would be $745.9 million.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
