Powerball has an estimated $620 million high prize up for grabs throughout its subsequent drawing set for Saturday, December 23. The drawing — coming simply hours earlier than Christmas Eve — stands to ship a fortunate winner with the Nineteenth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. historical past.
A Powerball ticket bought in Florida is displayed in entrance of a duplicate of the leg lamp made well-known in “A Christmas Story.” The $620 million Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing might make for a memorable Christmas for a fortunate winner. (Picture: Florida Lottery)
Powerball’s high prize, which is simply received by a ticket overcoming the measly odds of 1 in 292.2 million to match all 5 drawn white ball numbers and the pink Powerball, final hit on October 11. That jackpot was received by a ticket bought in California.
The $1.765 billion prize (one-time money choice of $774.1 million) was the second-richest Powerball prize within the sport’s historical past. Saturday evening’s high prize is price significantly much less, however stands to change somebody’s life.
The Powerball jackpot has surpassed $600 million. With lower than 4 days to go till Christmas, the Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $620 million,” a Powerball assertion issued on Thursday learn.
Saturday’s jackpot has an estimated money worth of $310.8 million. The six balls shall be drawn at 10:59 p.m. EST from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
Lottery Gross sales Improve Throughout Holidays
Even when their marketed 30-year annuitized jackpots aren’t within the lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}, Powerball and its major competitor, Mega Tens of millions, sometimes expertise a gross sales rush in the course of the vacation season.
Lottery tickets are well-liked items, and most state lotteries produce particular holiday-themed scratchers. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the state lottery has an “Ugly Sweater” second-chance drawing that enables nonwinning 2023 holiday-themed scratch-offs to enter into the “Scratch-Off Drawing.”
The second-chance high prize is price $150K. Every scratcher good points one entry for each $1 in buy value. Qualifying video games embody “Ho Ho Vacation,” “$1 Million Cash Tree,” “$500,000 Merry-Mint,” “Jingle Buck,” “Let It Snow,” “Sweet Cane Lane,” “Bah, Humbuck,” and “Naughty or Good.”
With Powerball upwards of $620 million, the sport run by the Multi-State Lottery Affiliation presumably has the higher hand on Mega Tens of millions this vacation season. The Mega Tens of millions jackpot for Friday evening’s drawing is simply $22 million.
Readability on Mega Tens of millions Win
The Mega Tens of millions jackpot reset to $20 million after the sport’s high prize was received in the course of the December 8 drawing. Two tickets bought on the similar retailer, a Chevron fuel station at 18081 Ventura Blvd. in Encino, Calif., in Los Angeles County, matched the six profitable numbers to say the $394 million ($188.6 million money) prize.
Mega Tens of millions, in a launch titled, “How May This Occur? Two Successful Mega Tens of millions Jackpot Tickets Bought on the Similar Retailer,” stated that the state of affairs, although uncommon, is explainable.
Whereas that is extremely uncommon and fascinating, it’s not extraordinary,” stated Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson with the California Lottery. “There are any variety of explanations; maybe one individual wished to attempt their luck on two completely different rows for no matter cause, or possibly a few buddies wished to attempt their probabilities with the identical precise numbers.”
Becker stated the exact cause received’t be recognized till the winner or winners come ahead to say the prize. California lottery guidelines prohibit winners from remaining nameless. Winners of Powerball and Mega Tens of millions have as much as a yr to redeem their winnings.
