The big prize sat at $1.2 billion with a cash option of $551.7 million.
It's the first time in the game's history that back-to-back cycles have generated billion-dollar prizes, according to, behind earlier Powerball and Mega Millions prizes that all topped $1 billion. If won, it would be the second-largest Powerball prize this year.
The prize has grown so large because there have been more than 30 consecutive drawings without a big winner, Federal taxes will eat into those winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The Powerball drawing takes place live at 10:59 p.m. Eastern every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
Over the past few years, huge lottery jackpots have become more common as lottery officials have changed the rules and ticket prices to boost top prizes. Powerball's biggest change came in 2021 when officials decided to add a Monday drawing to its weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings. At the time of the announcement, Powerball proclaimed the addition of the Monday drawing would lead to"larger, faster-growing jackpots.
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