Powerball Soars to $1.2 Billion

Yet again there was no grand prize winner Monday night in the already mammoth Powerball jackpot drawing.

The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.2 billion for the next drawing on Wednesday night. The jackpot has a cash value of $551.7 million.

Wednesday’s estimated jackpot ranks as the third largest in the Powerball game and seventh largest among U.S. lottery jackpots.

The Monday drawing produced more than 2.7 million winning tickets across the country, including two tickets, sold in Delaware and Michigan, that matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Two other tickets, sold in New York and South Carolina, matched all five white balls and increased the $1 million prize to $2 million by including the Power Play feature for an additional $1 per play. Other big wins from Monday night include 70 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 12 tickets that won $100,000 prizes.

This marks the first time in Powerball game history that back-to-back jackpot cycles have generated billion dollar grand prizes. The Powerball jackpot was previously won on July 19 in California, when a single ticket won a jackpot worth $1.08 billion. Since then, there have been 32 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.

If a player wins the jackpot on Wednesday night, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.2 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $551.7 million. Both prize options are before taxes. If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.