Powerball Jackpot Soars To $700 Million Ahead Of Saturday’s Draw

ORLANDO, Florida. – The Powerball jackpot continued to rise in 2023, reaching approximately $700 million before Saturday’s draw.

The winner, who must match the numbers on the five white balls (1-69) and the red Powerball (1-26), also has the opportunity to claim a lump sum payment of approximately $375.7 million before taxes.

The next draw will take place on February 4 at 10:59 pm ET.

“If a player wins the Saturday jackpot, it will become the sixth largest Powerball jackpot and the tenth largest US Lottery jackpot,” officials said in a statement.

The Powerball jackpot grows until the winning ticket is sold. Winners can choose to receive their prize as an annuity payable in 30 installments over 29 years, or receive a lump sum payment. Federal and jurisdictional taxes apply to any payment.

The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s draw were white balls 31, 43, 58, 59, 66 and Powerball 9.

Although no one won the top prize, there were three winning tickets sold in Florida and North Carolina that matched all five white balls and won $1 million.

A third ticket sold in New York matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million, including a Power Play option for an extra $1.

Powerball draws are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in 45 states, Washington DC, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The overall odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are only 1 in 292.2 million. To put that into perspective, those odds are slightly worse than flipping a coin and coming up heads 28 times in a row, University of Nebraska-Omaha mathematics professor Andrew Swift told The Associated Press earlier.

For those feeling lucky and willing to spend $2 on a ticket, the overall odds of winning any prize are slightly higher: 1 in 24.9.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.