Powerball’s Wednesday Jackpot Jumps to $630M, as Ticket Sales Increase Nationwide

Posted on: January 5, 2022, 11:03h. 

Last updated on: January 5, 2022, 11:32h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

For the third time in less than a year, the Powerball jackpot has grown past $600 million. Officials with the multi-state lottery game announced Wednesday morning that the top prize for the next drawing, occurring Wednesday night, would be $630 million.

Powerball
Wednesday’s Powerball drawing will be worth at least an estimated $630 million, making it the seventh-largest jackpot in the multi-state lottery’s history. (Image: KSN-TV)

The last time the jackpot went out, it happened on Oct. 4. That drawing for $699.8 million was Powerball’s fifth-largest prize and second-largest last year, trailing only to the Jan. 20, 2021. $731.1 million drawing.

Wednesday’s drawing will be the 40th since the last time someone matched all five numbers and the Powerball. If no one matches again, it’ll tie the record for most drawings without a winner.

Powerball is played in 45 states (all except for Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah), as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. For $2 a chance, players pick five numbers from a lot of 1 to 69, and then the Powerball from a separate lot of 1 to 26.

The odds of winning any prize, which starts at $4, is 1 in 24.9.

Matching all six numbers – the odds of which are 1 in 292.2 million – wins the jackpot, or a share of it if more than one ticket is correct. Winners can choose between receiving the prize over 30 annual installment payments, or taking the cash-value lump sum.

The current cash value is $448.4 million.

Wednesday’s drawing will take place at 10:59 pm ET. Check your local lottery on cutoff times for sales.

Monday’s Drawing Nets Three Million-Dollar Tickets

While no one hit the jackpot, Powerball Product Group Chair May Scheve Reardon said in a statement Tuesday that nearly 2 million people won a cash prize from Monday’s drawing.

We’re thrilled to offer players a jackpot that has hit the $600 million mark,” said Reardon, who is also the Missouri Lottery’s executive director. “Although no one hit the jackpot, we had more than 1.8 million tickets win a cash prize in last night’s drawing.”

Three tickets matched the first five numbers. That gave players in Connecticut and Texas $1 million each, while in Montana, a ticket that also included the $1 Power Play won $2 million.

Powerball Sales Rising with Jackpot

High demand across the country led Multi-State Lottery Association to boost its estimate from $575 million to $610 million Tuesday, and then again by $20 million on Wednesday. At its current forecast value, the jackpot ranks as the seventh-largest in Powerball’s history.

In just five days, the jackpot has risen from $500 million.

According to LottoReport.com, nearly $95.2 million in tickets were sold on Monday. Saturday’s ticket sales were $127.6 million. That was the highest sales total since the Oct. 2 drawing, which generated $145.9 million in sales.

Not surprisingly, the most-populated states were the top markets for ticket sales. California, the most populous state, had $11.7 million in sales Monday and $15.1 million for the New Year’s Day drawing.

Florida had $8.6 million in sales Monday and $11.5 million on Saturday. In New York, sales were $8.3 million and $9.6 million for Monday and Saturday, respectively.

Texas reported sales of $7.5 million on Monday and $9.9 million on Saturday.