The Powerball jackpot rose to $1.9 billion over the weekend, setting another record after no player won the grand prize in the last drawing on Saturday. The next Powerball drawing is set to take place on Monday night, as it does weekly, beginning just before 11 p.m. Eastern time.
Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night from the lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, Florida.
Anticipation over the lottery’s estimated prize fund has grown steadily over the past three months, as dozens of Powerball rounds passed without anyone taking home the jackpot in full. The last grand prize went to a winning ticket sold in Pennsylvania in early August, and the prize fund has been increasing since then.
How to play Powerball
Interested players can purchase Powerball tickets, sold at $2 per play, in 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to lottery officials. But, while the odds of winning any prize during a Powerball drawing are said to be roughly 1 in 25, a player’s chances of securing the jackpot are significantly lower, at about 1 in 292 million, officials say.
When a Powerball ticket is purchased, the player is asked to choose five numbers between 1 and 69, and one number between 1 and 26, for a total of six figures printed on a play slip. Those who would rather not select numbers themselves can opt for the lottery terminal to choose their numbers randomly.
Smaller prizes are given out to players who hold tickets with numbers that partially match the sequence announced during a drawing. In order to win the jackpot, a ticket must match all six numbers called, including the final Powerball number.
On Saturday, the winning numbers were 28, 45, 53, 56 and 69, with a Powerball of 20. It marked the 40th Powerball drawing since the last jackpot win in August. If no one wins during Monday night’s drawing, this Powerball run will become the longest in the game’s history without a grand prize winner.
If one or more Powerball tickets win on Monday, the estimated jackpot’s cash value stands at $929.1 million, according to the lottery. As usual, winners can choose to collect their prize as either a lump sum payment, which can be collected in full after applicable taxes are taken out, or as an annuity, which is paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years.
