Powerball cash payout reaches new heights
The Powerball jackpot rose last night to $310 million for the total annuity. Wednesday’s drawing had no winners picking all six numbers (17, 28, 38, 39, 51 and the Powerball 33).
However, while no one had the Powerball number, five lucky players each received a million dollars for correctly guessing the first five numbers; the winning tickets were sold in New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri and Nebraska. This means during the next drawing all six numbers would have a total cash payout of $193.4 million, which will be the largest cash payout to date.
The prize for the power ball has doubled in the last week, largely in part to the cost of a ticket doubling to $2 in January.
Forty-two states participate in the Powerball, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. The numbers range from 1 to 59 for the first five white balls and 1 to 35 for the sixth ball. The lottery reports the odds of selecting all six numbers correctly are 1 in 175,223,510. Contestants are able to receive their winnings in one-large cash payout, or they may opt to select 30 annual payments.
The largest Powerball jackpot in history was $365 million. The winning ticket was sold in Nebraska on Feb. 18, 2006.
