Powerball jackpot rises to an estimated $1.3B after no winning ticket sold

No one has matched all six numbers since May 31, allowing the jackpot to swell to $1.3 billion, which would be the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history if there is a winner in the drawing Wednesday night.

As ticket sales climbed during the past week, game officials raised the estimated Monday night jackpot to $1.1 billion before taxes.

Although there was no lucky jackpot winner, two ticket holders in Montana and North Carolina each won $2 million.

Payments for a jackpot would be spread over 30 years. A winner also can choose an immediate lump sum in cash before taxes, which now stands at $589 million.

West Virginia Lottery Acting Director David Bradley on Tuesday encouraged players to check their numbers and search for old tickets, as the owner of a $1 million ticket sold in Hurricane for a drawing in March is set to expire Sept. 8.

There also was a $50,000 winning ticket hit in West Virginia after Saturday’s Powerball drawing, sold at Cheat Lake Price Cutter, in Morgantown.

The odds of matching all six numbers are astronomical: 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of getting struck by lightning are far greater. But with so many people putting down money for a chance at life-changing wealth, someone eventually wins.

Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held each week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights.