Powerball jackpot soars to estimated $700 million ahead of Saturday drawing
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Powerball jackpot has continued to roll in 2023, reaching an estimated $700 million ahead of Saturday’s drawing.
The winner, who must match numbers on five white balls (1-69) and the red Powerball (1-26), also has the option to claim a one-time lump sum payment of an estimated $375.7 million before taxes.
The next drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 4.
"If a player wins Saturday’s jackpot, it will rank as the sixth-largest Powerball jackpot and the tenth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot," officials said in a statement.
The Powerball jackpot grows until a winning ticket is sold. Winners can choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 payments over 29 years, or take the lump sum payment. Federal and jurisdictional taxes are applicable to either payout.
FILE - In this photo illustration, tickets for Powerball lottery are seen on Nov. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo illustration by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were white balls 31, 43, 58, 59, 66, and Powerball 9.
While no one won the grand prize, three winning tickets were sold in Florida and North Carolina that matched all five white balls to win $1 million.
A third ticket, sold in New York, matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million by including the Power Play option for an additional $1.
Powerball drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in 45 states, Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The overall odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are just 1 in 292.2 million. To put that into perspective, those odds are a little worse than flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times, University of Nebraska-Omaha mathematics professor Andrew Swift previously told the Associated Press.
For those feeling lucky and wanting to spend $2 for a ticket, the overall odds of winning any prize is a little better at 1 in 24.9.
This story was reported from Cincinnati.