Powerball jackpot up to record $1.6B
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Strong sales boosted a Powerball jackpot to an estimated $1.6 billion on Friday, making it the largest lottery prize in history.
A drawing will be held tonight for the Powerball prize, which hasn’t been won in more than three months. That string of 39 consecutive drawings without a winner reflects the long odds, at 1 in 292.2 million.
The advertised jackpot is the prize for a winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Almost all winners instead opt for the cash prize, which for tonight’s drawing would be an estimated $782.4 million.
The jackpot tops the previous record of $1.586 billion won in 2016 by three Powerball players in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



