If you win the Powerball jackpot tonight, you could celebrate by treating yourself to plenty of Christmas presents.
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At an estimated $740 million, tonight's prize is one of the lottery game's biggest amounts of the year. That's an estimated cash value of $346.1 million, according to the lottery.
When Was the Last Time Someone Won the Powerball Jackpot?
To play Powerball, you choose five numbers from 69 white balls and one number from 26 red balls.
The prize grew because no one matched all six numbers drawn on Saturday night. The white balls were 8, 23, 25, 40, 53. One player won a million dollars for matching those five numbers. The red Powerball was 5.
The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was on Sep. 6. Two players, one in Texas and the other in Missouri, split a $1.79 billion prize. It was the second-largest jackpot in the history of the game.
Would You Want the Prize All at Once or in Installments?
If you are lucky enough to win the Powerball jackpot, you can choose to have it paid out in annual installments or in one lump sum. If you choose the former option, you receive an immediate payment followed by 29 payments that increase by 5% per year.
However, you can't win if you don't play, but the odds aren't favorable. The chances of winning a prize are 1 in 38.32. The odds of winning the jackpot are even steeper, with it at 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
Where Can I Play Powerball?
Lottery tickets are available at most convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets, and liquor stores. Many locations also offer vending machines for purchasing tickets quickly and easily.
Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah do not offer Powerball.
If the line is too long, some states, including Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, offer tickets online via their websites or apps.
There are also third-party apps, such as Jackpocket, and websites like Jackpot.com that are licensed to sell tickets. However, if you purchase a ticket from another state, you must be physically present in that state and meet its legal age requirement to collect the prize.
Tonight's Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time. Good luck!
