Powerball Grand Prize Hits $1.4bn in US After Wednesday Drawing
Powerball is the most popular lottery, with players from more than 50 US states. It has drawings every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Surprisingly, there has not been a Powerball winner in 30 consecutive drawings. This has contributed to the grand prize rising to a whopping $1.4bn. The next drawing will be on October 7, 2023, and we hope there will be a lucky winner this time.
This isn't the first time the Powerball lottery has hit headlines. Back in 2016, the Powerball grand prize hit $1.59 billion, and a staggering $2.04 billion jackpot in November 2022. So, the $1.4 billion is the third biggest prize in the history of Powerball.
Besides, another lucky player from California scooped a $1.08 billion jackpot grand prize on July 9, 2023.
What are the odds of winning Powerball?
Before you start playing Powerball, you must understand that the odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292.2 million. Interestingly, you collect the entire sum through an initial payment and 29 annual installations. Alternatively, winners can select a cash option where they can manage the whole amount of $643.7 million. However, the indicated amount is before taxation.
3.2 Million Powerball Winning Tickets Purchased on Wednesday
The Powerball drawing on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, was the biggest in the history. It had a record-breaking 3.2 million in ticket purchasing despite the game having minimal odds of winning.
Higher Prize Tier Tickets
The purchased tickets were from different prize tiers. Unfortunately, no one managed to match all the six white balls: 9, 35, 54, 63, 64, and the red Powerball 1. Luckily, seven tickets matched all the whiteballs and theye were rewared $1 million prize each. The winners were from California, Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Additionally, three players purchased an extra $1 worth of tickets for the multiplier and won $2 million each.
Lower Prize Tier Tickets
81 lucky players from the lower price tier had three correct white ball predictions and the red ball. They won a $50,000 prize each. We also had 13 players who paid extra dollars for the Power Play, where they won $100,000 each.
How to Play Powerball
The minimum cost of a Powerball ticket is $2, but players in Idaho and Montana can play with a minimum of $3, thanks to the Power Play feature. Each player must select five numbers between 1 and 69 for the white balls and one number between 1 and 26 for the red powerball.
The numbers can be randomly selected manually on the play slip, or use the lottery terminal to randomly pick your preferred numbers. To win, you must match one of the nine possible ways to win. Remember, sales cut-off times may vary by one or two hours depending on where you are playing from.
