No one won the Powerball on Saturday, so that means Monday night’s drawing is now worth an estimated $421 million.
Saturday’s winning numbers for the then $400 million jackpot were 10-39-47-49-56 and a Powerball of 8. While the grand prize jackpot grew, 1.2 million players did win a cash prize. That includes ticketholders in Arizona and Florida, both of whom matched the first five numbers to win $1 million each.
The current jackpot is the largest in nearly four months. On Jan. 5, two winning tickets, one each in California and Wisconsin, shared a $632.6 million jackpot. That’s the seventh-largest prize paid out by the multi-state lottery game.
Monday’s drawing will take place at 10:59 pm ET. Check with your local lottery to determine cutoff times for sales.
The cash option for Monday night is an estimated $252.1 million. Winners have the option to take that upfront or receive 30 installments over a 29-year period.
Bigger Jackpot Nets a Nice Sales Increase
When it comes to playing the Powerball, the $400 million mark seems to be the threshold where high interest starts to form.
According to LottoReport.com, sales for Saturday’s drawing totaled $61.6 million. That represented the fourth-largest sales total for a drawing this year. The first three drawings of the year currently rank as the three highest, with sales for the Jan. 5 drawing a year-to-date best of $151.6 million.
Saturday’s drawing represented a nearly 69 percent jump in sales from Wednesday’s drawing when the jackpot was worth $370 million. Weekend drawings tend to perform better than the Monday and Wednesday draws. The previous Saturday, April 16, saw sales of $45.7 million for a $325 million jackpot.
This is the third Powerball jackpot of the year. Besides the Jan. 5 jackpot being claimed, a ticketholder in Connecticut claimed a $185.3 million jackpot on Valentine’s Day.
Powerball Basics
Powerball started 30 years ago this month. Throughout the years, the game has gone through a few changes and updates. Those include a PowerPlay option that allows players to pay a $1 to earn up to 10 times the amount of smaller cash prizes (the $1 million prize for matching the first five balls can only be doubled, regardless of the multiplier).
The current version of the game calls for players to make five selections from a pool of numbers ranging from 1 to 69 and then pick one number from a separate pool ranging from 1 to 26. Players can buy a quick pick, which lets a computer randomly select their numbers.
Each entry costs $2. The PowerPlay option is $1 extra. In addition, select states offer a Double Play option that allows players to get into a second chance drawing worth up to $10 million.
The odds to win any prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Tickets for the multi-state lottery game can be purchased in every state except Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Powerball tickets can also be purchased in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
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