Powerball, America’s favorite lottery, retained its jackpot after there was no winning ticket that guessed correctly all white balls 19, 30, 37, 44, 46 and the red Powerball 22 from the drawing on Saturday. Surviving the latest drawing, the jackpot now surpasses the billion-dollar mark and is estimated to be $1.04 billion for the draw set for Monday, October 2, 2023.
While the jackpot is still the fourth largest, it certainly came close to the third-largest prize that dropped back in July, a staggering $1.08 billion. Given that nobody wins the jackpot on Monday, it is likely that it will continue growing and become the third-largest grand prize. Besides the jackpot that was won back in July, this year saw another grand prize drop. In February, a lucky winner from Washington hit the Powerball jackpot, taking home some $754.6 million.
If a lucky winner hits the jackpot from the upcoming drawing on Monday, they will be able to choose one of two options. One of the options is to collect the full prize of $1.04 billion via annual installments with initial immediate payment and 29 subsequent payments with a 5% increase yearly.
On the other hand, if the lucky player wants to take home a lump sum, they can also do so by collecting approximately $478.2 million, again, a life-changing sum. It’s important to note that the estimated cost of the aforementioned prizes is before taxes.
Jackpot Remains but Lucky Visitors Take Home Lower-Tier Prizes
Played across nearly 50 states and US jurisdictions, Powerball is undoubtedly one of the most popular lottery games. The cost per ticket is $2, while players who want to benefit from the game’s multiplier feature can pay an extra $1 per play.
While the drawing on Saturday didn’t have a grand prize winner, plenty of prizes within the lower-tier levels of the game dropped. Overall, more than 2.5 million people won prizes within the different prize-tiers from the game.
Five lucky players were able to guess correctly the white balls from the drawing on Saturday. As a result, two ticket holders in Florida, one in Maryland, one in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania secured a $1 million prize each. On Saturday, one ticket holder in North Carolina and one in Indiana guessed correctly all white balls but paid extra for a multiplier, taking home $2 million prizes each.
The latest drawing saw 55 ticket holders secure a $50,000 prize each. On the other hand, nine ticket holders who paid for a multiplier were able to scoop up a $100,000 prize each.