The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an eye-popping $1.8 billion as of Thursday, after yet another drawing passed without a big winner Wednesday.
The numbers selected were: 3, 16, 29, 61 and 69, with the Powerball number being 22. While no one hit the jackpot, a $100,000 Powerball ticket was purchased through the West Virginia Lottery iPlay app Wednesday.
Since May 31, there have been 41 straight drawings without a big winner.
“We had a $50,000 winner last weekend and have this $100,000 winner from last night,†West Virginia Lottery Acting Director David Bradley said in a statement Thursday. “It is key to check your tickets and to get them purchased for Saturday.â€
Bradley also encourages players to check tickets, as just two days remain to claim the $1 million ticket sold in Hurricane for a drawing in March. The expiration date for that ticket is Sept. 8.
There were 11 $1 million dollar tickets hit on Wednesday, and of those, five increased their winnings to $2 million with the Power Play option. There were 36 tickets that matched for $100,000, including the iPlay winner in WV, and another 117 tickets for $50,000 prizes.
±Ê´Ç·É±ð°ù²ú²¹±ô±ô’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes. There are three drawings each week.
The estimated $1.4 billion jackpot from Wednesday night’s drawing would have been for a winner who had opted to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which would have been an estimated $634.3 million.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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