The Powerball® jackpot made it through last night’s drawing and is still growing! It now stands at an estimated $800 million annuity, $383.7 million cash option for Saturday’s drawing.
That’s the second highest jackpot in the history of the game and the fifth largest lottery prize ever offered in North America.
When the jackpot reaches this level, it’s harder to predict the grand-prize estimate heading into the next drawing. Stronger sales drive the jackpot up and can mean revisions of the prize estimate, as we’ve seen this past week.
The Powerball jackpot has reached its current level because it has been growing for nearly three months. It was last won on Aug. 3 with a ticket in Pennsylvania.
I’ve Heard That The Odds Change As The Jackpot Grows …
There are a lot of beliefs out there about playing the lottery, and some of them aren’t … quite accurate. When it comes to the Powerball jackpot, some people say that players have a harder time winning when the jackpot climbs because more people are buying tickets.
But if that were the case, how would we ever know the odds of winning – would they change with each ticket sold?
The odds of winning in Powerball do not change. They’re the same for every play purchased in the game.
For the Powerball jackpot specifically, the odds of winning it are about 1 in 292.2 million because that’s how many ways the numbers available in the game can be combined to make a play. When the winning numbers are selected, they’re one of about 292.2 million possibilities. Will the numbers on your ticket match?
Easy Pick vs. Your Own Numbers
The vast majority of tickets purchased in games like Powerball and Mega Millions® are easy-pick plays, meaning that the lottery terminal assigns the numbers printed on the ticket. About 95 percent of the plays purchased in Iowa for recent drawings in the games were easy picks.
But players also can choose their own numbers. They choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 69 for the white balls and one number from a separate pool of 26 for the red Powerball.
Neither option is luckier. The odds of winning are the same for every ticket purchased in the game. There are more winners from easy-pick tickets simply because the majority of tickets purchased are easy picks.
A player wins the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers in a Powerball drawing. However, there are a total of nine prize levels in Powerball ranging from $4 up to the jackpot, so the Iowa Lottery reminds its players to be sure to check their tickets for all the prizes they may have won.
Reminders About Group Play
When a jackpot reaches into the stratosphere, group play increases, with many lottery players buying tickets in office pools or with family and friends. The Iowa Lottery keeps group play reminders on its website to help players keep lottery pool play fun and hassle free.
Among the suggestions: Keep an accurate list of everyone who puts in money for a particular drawing and how much they contribute. And, provide everyone in your pool with photos or copies of the group’s tickets before the drawing.
And Hey, Another Jackpot Also Is Making News!
Powerball isn’t the only game at the moment with a headline-making jackpot.
Its smaller cousin, Lotto America®, is in record jackpot territory for that game. The current Lotto America jackpot stands at an estimated $29.38 million annuity, $14.09 million lump-sum option, for that game’s Saturday drawing.
The Lotto America jackpot has been climbing since July 2021. Before this latest run, the previous record jackpot in Lotto America was a $22.82 million prize won in March 2018. Lotto America costs $1 to play and has drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The game has a similar design to Powerball and Mega Millions, but its jackpots are smaller and a lot easier to win.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly.
Hi, Shirley. It is true that there will be more winners in an area where more tickets are being sold. Every ticket has the same odds of winning, but more tickets being purchased = more winnings in that particular area simply due to the volume of plays involved. Sales are obviously huge in a state like New York or Florida as compared to Iowa because their populations are so much bigger than ours. Over time, a state will have the number of winners proportional to its population base, and that has been the case across the game. Nine Iowa Lottery players have won Powerball jackpots so far, so we think we're doing OK!
Posted by: Mary Neubauer | October 28, 2022 at 08:39 AM
It seems like there are more winners in the eastern, especially northeaster states. Is it just me? Not very many in the Midwest.
Posted by: Shirley Kramer | October 27, 2022 at 03:57 PM