Check those tickets: $731.1 million on the line in Wednesday’s Powerball lottery drawing
For more than four months, two big lottery jackpots have continued to increase. Now both are nearing record levels.
No one won the $865 million Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday. In fact, the top prize hasn’t been paid out since Sept. 15, when one ticket sold in Wisconsin was good for $119 million.
On Wednesday night, the fourth-largest prize in Powerball history was on the line, with the jackpot worth an estimated $731.1 million. It increased from $640 million on Jan. 16 and hadn’t been won since Sept. 16.
Until now.
The winning numbers, drawn at 8 p.m., were 40, 53, 60, 68 and 69, and the Powerball number was 22. It’s the sixth-highest jackpot ever in a U.S. lottery game. The largest Powerball payout of nearly $1.6 billion was split between three tickets on Jan. 13, 2016, with winners in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Wednesday’s jackpot, which was won in Maryland, had an estimated cash value of $546 million, according to lottery officials. Had it been a California winner, that lucky person would still have to pay federal taxes, although California is one of only 10 states to exempt state income tax on lottery winnings.
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot resets to $20 million.
Powerball tickets are $2 each and drawings are held Wednesdays and Saturdays. To play, you must select five numbers between 1 and 69, and a bonus “Powerball” number between 1 and 26. Players have a 1 in 38.3 chance of winning a prize in a Powerball drawing, with jackpot odds at 1 in 292.2 million. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states across the country, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
If you win less than $600, you can take your ticket to a retailer in exchange for cash, according to the California Lottery. If you win more than $600, download a claim form and deliver it to any lottery district office or mail it to 730 N. 10th St., Sacramento, CA 95811.
If you didn’t win anything in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, you can soon have another shot at riches. Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is estimated at $970 million, which would be the second-largest prize in that game’s history.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Check those tickets: $731.1 million on the line in Wednesday’s Powerball lottery drawing."