The Powerball jackpot is expected to rise to an estimated $1.5 billion for Saturday night’s drawing, making it the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history, lottery officials said.
The jump comes after no ticket matched all six numbers in Wednesday’s drawing, when a $1.25 billion Powerball jackpot — with a cash value of $572.1 million — was on the line. The winning numbers drawn on Wednesday were 25, 33, 53, 62, 66, and the red Powerball 17.
That $1.25 billion pot ranked as the sixth-largest Powerball prize ever. The largest jackpot in the game, and in lottery history, was $2.04 billion, won on Nov. 7, 2022, by a single ticket in California.
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The Powerball jackpot was last hit on Sept. 6, when two tickets sold in Missouri and Texas split a $1.787 billion prize. Since then, there have been 43 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, allowing the top prize to keep rolling higher.
Had someone hit all six numbers on Wednesday, the winner could have chosen between annual payments totaling an estimated $1.25 billion over 30 years or a one-time lump sum of $572.1 million, before taxes.
According to Powerball, the odds of winning the jackpot remain a daunting 1 in 292.2 million. Tickets cost $2 per play, with drawings held three times a week. Saturday’s drawing is scheduled for just before 11 p.m. ET in the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
