Powerball jackpot climbs to $596M after no tickets match numbers needed to claim grand prize

The Powerball jackpot has increased again after no players claimed to have a ticket matching the winning numbers after Wednesday night’s drawing.

The grand prize now sits at an estimated $596 million – with a one-time cash payout of approximately $288.2 million – for Saturday night’s drawing. There is a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning the grand prize, according to the game.

The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were 22, 30, 37, 44, 45 with a red Powerball number of 18. The Power Play option was 3X. 

Two lucky players did score million-dollar prizes after matching all five white balls, the game announced. A ticket in Missouri was worth $1 million after the drawing and one in South Carolina with the Power Play option selected was worth $2 million.

POWERBALL HITS THIRD-LARGEST JACKPOT OF THE YEAR

The biggest Powerball jackpot of 2023 – and the third-largest in the game’s history – was won in July by a lucky player in California, who snagged the $1.08 billion prize, the lottery said. 

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Behind that was a $754.6 million grand prize won by a player in Washington in February, which is marked as the game’s sixth-largest prize ever.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game says more than half of the proceeds from a ticket sale remain in the jurisdiction where it was sold.

Participants in fellow lottery Mega Millions have an opportunity to play for a $162 million grand prize on Friday night.