Powerball jackpot reaches $635M for tonight's drawing, could be 10th largest in US lottery history

BySteve Almasy and Carma Hassan, CNN, CNNWire
Sunday, October 3, 2021
$635 million Powerball jackpot sparks lotto fever across the US
Saturday's Powerball annuitized jackpot is estimated to be $635 million, potentially making it the 10th largest in US lottery history.

Saturday's Powerball annuitized jackpot is estimated to be $635 million, potentially making it the 10th largest in US lottery history.

If a winning ticket is sold, the huge jackpot would be the sixth-largest in Powerball history.

The cash value of one winning ticket would be $450 million.

The last time a winner matched the six drawn numbers was in June and the jackpot has grown from $20 million to the current level over 39 drawings.

"When the jackpot reaches this level, we have more players jumping into the game, so we are continuously reviewing ticket sales to provide an up-to-date jackpot estimate," Powerball Product Group Chair and Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon said in the statement.

Each Powerball ticket costs $2. The odds of winning are 1 in 292.2 million.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

In August, Powerball added a third drawing -- on Monday -- to its weekly schedule.

The record for the largest jackpots in US lottery history is just north of $1.5 billion.

A Powerball prize of $1.586 billion was split between three winners in January 2016.

A $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize in October 2018 was claimed anonymously by a South Carolinian.

Powerball winners who choose an annuity prize get paid over 29 years. Most winners choose the cash option, which does not include taxes.

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