Powerball jackpot soars to $925 million ahead of next drawing
An estimated $925 million jackpot is up for grabs in the next Powerball drawing on Saturday night.
It's the fourth-largest purse in the American lottery game's history and the second-largest this year, according to a press release from Powerball.
The grand prize, which has an estimated cash value of $432.4 million, ballooned passed the $900 million mark after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday night. However, four tickets -- purchased in California, Kansas, Maryland and New York -- matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes, Powerball said.
The jackpot was previously won on July 19, when a ticket purchased in California matched all five white balls and the red Powerball to claim $1.08 billion. Since then, there have been 30 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner.
Jackpot winners can either take the money as an immediate cash lump sum or in 30 annual payments over 29 years. Both advertised prize options do not include federal and jurisdictional taxes.
The jackpot grows based on game sales and interest, but the odds of winning the big prize stays the same -- 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The drawings are also livestreamed online at Powerball.com.
