Powerball

Sept. 7 (UPI) — Two lucky ticket holders in Missouri and Texas won the massive $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot after Saturday’s drawing, lottery officials announced Sunday.

The winning numbers from Saturday’s drawing were white balls 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and red Powerball 17 with a Power Play multiplier of 2, the Multi-State Lottery Association said in a statement.

It was the second-largest prize since the game began in 1992 and will be split by the two ticket holders. The largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever was the world-record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 7, 2022.

“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winners and the Missouri Lottery and Texas Lottery for selling the winning tickets,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and chief executive of the Iowa Lottery.

Nearly 10 million other players won smaller prizes after Saturday’s drawing, including 18 winners of the $1 million prize for matching all five white balls with two of those increasing their winnings to $2 million by selecting the Power Play add-on.

The Saturday Powerball pull was the 42nd drawing since the most recent jackpot was won in California in May, ending the longest run in the game’s history without a jackpot winner. Now, the Powerball jackpot resets down to a $20 million prize.

The overall odds of winning a prize remain 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot remain 1 in 292.2 million.

Funds raised from lotteries like Powerball often go toward state education departments for funding programs like the arts or to vocational programs and responsible gambling initiatives.

But Powerball is not without its critics who have raised concerns about gambling addiction or criticized lotteries, including Powerball, for disproportionately burden lower-income and minority communities while essentially functioning as a regressive form of taxation.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — The Powerball jackpot has risen to $1.7 billion after no one matched all five numbers and the red ball on Wednesday.

Saturday’s Powerball is the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history, falling behind the Nov. 7, 2022, jackpot of $2.04 billion and $1.765 billion on Oct. 11, 2023.

The winner will receive the option of a lump sum payment estimated at $770.3 million or 29 payments that increase by 5% each year.

Wednesday winning numbers were white balls 3, 16, 29, 61, 69 and a red Powerball 22 with a Power Play multiplier of 2.

Although there were no jackpot winners, eleven tickets matched the $1 million prize and were sold in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Four tickets won the $2 million prize in Michigan, Oregon. Texas, and Wyoming.

Also, 117 tickets won $50,000 prizes and 36 won $100,000 prizes. In total, more than 6.3 million tickets won crash prizes in Wednesday night’s drawing.

Saturday’s drawing will be the 42nd since the last jackpot was won on May 31,2025.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Aug. 26 (UPI) — Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $815 million, the lotto said Tuesday, making it the seventh-largest pot in the game’s history.

The prize has an estimated cash value of nearly $368 million, Powerball said in a statement.

The jackpot soared after no one won Monday’s draw for the pot that then sat at $750 million.

Though there was no grand winner Monday night, two tickets sold in Georgia and Texas were worth $1 million each as they both matched all five white balls, while 26 tickets won $50,000 prizes.

According to the lotto, Wednesday’s drawing will by the 38th since a ticket in California won the grand prize on May 31.

Wednesday’s Powerball Jackpot is only surpassed in worth by six others, five of which were in the billion-dollar range. The most valuable was the Nov. 7, 2022, draw for $2.04 billion.