Clock Ticking to Buy Powerball Tickets for Tonight’s Estimated $1.2B Jackpot Drawing

Tonight’s Powerball jackpot is an estimated $1.2 billion, with a cash value of $596.7 million. If that jackpot is realized, it would be the game’s second-largest drawing ever and the fourth-largest jackpot prize in US lottery history.

Powerball jackpot lottery odds Mega Millions
Powerball jackpot lottery odds Mega Millions
A bodega in New York City advertises the $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot on the line for the game’s drawing on Nov. 2, 2022. No ticket has won the Powerball jackpot since early August. (Image: AP)

The Nov. 2 Powerball drawing will take place at 10:59 pm EST from the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee. Ticket sale cut-off times vary by state but typically occur one to two hours before the scheduled drawing.

For Powerball players in states where online sales are not permitted, long lines should be expected. Powerball is experiencing unrivaled demand for the $2 tickets for the long shot at a life-changing fortune.

Powerball, operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), says it sold approximately 131.6 million Powerball tickets for the Oct. 31 drawing. No ticket matched all five white balls and red Powerball to claim the jackpot, which was $1 billion.

People in Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, North Carolina, and New Hampshire are afforded the convenience of purchasing a Powerball play online.

Jackpot Odds Shorten

The odds of a ticket matching all six Powerball numbers drawn remains constant at one in 292.2 million. That is the number of unique combinations made possible by the game being played with 69 white balls and 26 red Powerballs.

But as demand increases, more possible number combinations are covered for each drawing. For the Monday drawing, 131.6 million tickets were sold, but it’s unknown how many unique number combinations were produced.

But with each passing drawing without a jackpot hit — the streak currently at 38 drawings — the Powerball jackpot further cements its place in US lottery history.

This is the largest Powerball prize in more than six years,” explained Drew Svitko, chair of the Powerball Group and executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery. “The jackpot is getting bigger with every ticket sold.”

The richest jackpot ever offered in the US was a $1.586 billion Powerball prize three players won in January 2016. The largest lottery prize won by a single player was a $1.537 billion Mega Millions bonanza won by a player in South Carolina in October 2018.

Charities Benefitting

State lotteries provide an array of financial assistance to nonprofits and programs, and those organizations and initiatives are benefitting from the Powerball hysteria. How lottery proceeds are distributed varies by state, but the money often supports senior citizens, military veterans, public education, and property tax relief.

Players should feel good knowing that a portion of their ticket purchase is staying in their state to benefit good causes,” Svitko added.

Considering playing Powerball a good deed or philanthropic undertaking, however, might be a stretch.

In Pennsylvania, for example, 67% of each $2 play goes towards prizes. Another 2% is allocated towards operating expenses associated with the game and 8% is set aside for retailer and vendor commissions.

That leaves just 46 cents of the $2 Powerball purchase for charitable programs. But with more than 150 million tickets expected to be sold for tonight’s drawing, the change nonetheless adds up quickly.

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