Ticket sales for Saturday’s Powerball lottery draw have sky-rocketed across the U.S. after the jackpot for the Labor Day weekend draw climbed to $1 billion.
Game officials bumped up the total jackpot estimate Friday morning from $950 million after reviewing national ticket sales. Should a lucky winner be found, they could opt for a cash payment of $453.1 million before taxes, or payments spread over 30 years.
The jackpot became the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history after no player matched the winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing. The numbers drawn then were 9, 12, 22, 41, 61, with the red Powerball 25.
“We’re bringing extra excitement to Labor Day Weekend with a Powerball jackpot that’s climbed to a billion dollars!” Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said in a press release.
Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The jackpot has been growing each week because no one has matched all six numbers since May 31.
The odds of matching all six numbers, of course, are daunting: 1 in 292.2 million. By comparison, the odds of getting a rare shark bite during a last summer dip in the ocean are much lower, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Angela Schwartz, who sells tickets at City Market in downtown Detroit, said the message Friday was consistent: “Give me a lucky Powerball.”
“I don’t know if that’s enough for me,” she said with a laugh, referring to the lump-sum payout a winner could get. “It could pay a few bills.”
At a Fuel City in Dallas, Duran Hargest let the lottery machine spit out four tickets with random numbers.
“It could be a blessing,” he said of winning the jackpot. “It could also be a curse, depending on how you use it. I just wanted to make sure if I get it, you know, take care of my family and then probably help others that probably need it, too.”
Powerball and Mega Millions are lottery games with potentially huge jackpots because they are played in multiple states. The top Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion on November 7, 2022. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.6 billion on August 8, 2023.
With reporting from The Associated Press.
