WASHINGTON — The Powerball jackpot officially broke the record for the largest prize ever offered in a U.S. lottery — and kept growing.
Saturday's jackpot soared to $1.6 billion after a strong sales boost. With no big winner, the estimated grand prize is now at a shocking $1.9 billion, according to the California Lottery's website.
The winning numbers for Saturday's drawing were 28-45-53-56-69, Powerball 20 and Power Play 3. The next drawing is on Monday, Nov. 7.
Several people woke up millionaires after Saturday's drawing thanks to Powerball's smaller prizes. There were 16 winners of $1 million across Florida, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, South Dakota, New York, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Only one person in Kentucky won $2 million, thanks to the Power Play option.
Even as the grand prize nears $2 billion, the odds of winning remain meager — 1 in 292.2 million.
In Wednesday's drawing, 46.6% of the 292.2 million possible number combinations were covered. That was up from the 36.3% of all possible number combinations that were picked for Monday night’s drawing, reflecting that ticket sales rise as jackpots climb higher.
Winners will receive the jackpot over 29 years if they opt for an annuity. Almost all of the winners opt for cash, which is $929.1 million for Monday's drawing.
Since lottery officials changed the rules and price of tickets to increase top prizes a few years ago, huge lottery jackpots have become more frequent. The latest change came in August, when Powerball officials added a third drawing day to the weekly schedule to pump prizes and sales.
The previous biggest prize was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticketholders in 2016. Once a winning ticket matches the drawing, the Powerball jackpot starts over again at $20 million and continues to grow each drawing until it is won.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Top 10 biggest US lottery jackpots
- $1.9 billion (estimated) Powerball
- $1.586 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 (three tickets, from California, Florida, Tennessee)
- $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018 (one ticket, from South Carolina)
- $1.337 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022 (one ticket, from Illinois)
- $1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021 (one ticket, from Michigan)
- $768.4 million, Powerball, March 27, 2019 (one ticket, from Wisconsin)
- $758.7 million, Powerball, Aug. 23, 2017 (one ticket, from Massachusetts)
- $731.1 million, Powerball, Jan. 20, 2021 (one ticket, from Maryland)
- $687.8 million, Powerball, Oct. 27, 2018 (two tickets, from Iowa and New York)
- $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)