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Forty Powerball Drawings Go Without Jackpot Winner

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Posted on: October 4, 2021, 08:59h. 

Last updated on: October 4, 2021, 09:24h.

Powerball has been on a winless streak, as the past 40 drawings have gone without a lucky player matching all five white balls plus the red Powerball to claim the ever-growing jackpot.

Powerball lottery jackpot Mega Millions
A Boston man shows off his Powerball tickets for tonight’s draw. The jackpot stands at an estimated $685 million, which would be the eighth-largest lottery jackpot in the history of the United States. (Image: Boston Herald)

Tonight’s estimated $685 million jackpot has been ballooning since early June. The last time a ticket matched all six numbers was back on June 5, when a single winning ticket was sold in Florida. The prize was worth $285.6 million.

Nearly four months of the Powerball jackpot escalating, the 10:59 pm ET draw later today will offer the eighth-largest lottery jackpot in US history. If more players than expected purchase tickets today in the lead-up to the drawing, the October 4, 2021, Powerball drawing could inch towards the seventh-largest US lottery jackpot of $687.8 million, which was set in October of 2018.

Saturday’s winning numbers were 28-38-42-47-52 and the Powerball 01. One ticket matched all five white balls for a $1 million prize. A total of 66 other tickets matched four white balls and the Powerball. Eleven of those tickets purchased the $1 Power Play option that doubled their prize from $50,000 to $100,000.

Powerball Revamp

Powerball earlier this year announced the addition of a third weekly drawing. In August, a weekly Monday night drawing began to give players the opportunity to win on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

The additional weekly draw has allowed Powerball’s jackpot to grow quickly during the four-month winless jackpot span.

Powerball’s current streak of 40 drawings without a jackpot winner is unprecedented. The previous streak of jackpot-less draws was 37. That run ended in January of this year, when a lucky player in Maryland hit a $731.1 million jackpot.

The winner, who opted to remain anonymous, which is permitted under Maryland law, redeemed the jackpot in May. The winner chose the one-time cash option of $546.8 million. After federal and state taxes, the haul was reduced to roughly $366.6 million.

Top 10 Largest US Lottery Jackpots

  1. $1.586B — Powerball — Jan. 2016
  2. $1.537B — Mega Millions — Oct. 2018
  3. $1.05B — Mega Millions — Jan. 2021
  4. $768.4M — Powerball — Mar. 2019
  5. $758.7M — Powerball — Aug. 2017
  6. $731.1M — Powerball — Jan. 2021
  7. $687.8M — Powerball — Oct. 2018
  8. $656M — Mega Millions — Mar. 2012
  9. $648M — Mega Millions — Dec. 2013
  10. $590.5M — Powerball — May 2013

Tonight’s estimated $685 million jackpot will have the option of choosing the lump sum of $485.5 million, or receiving the full $685 million pot through 30 payments over 29 years.

Jackpot Hysteria

Seven of the largest US lottery jackpots in history being set since 2017 is the result of Powerball and Mega Millions overhauling their game plays in recent years.

In 2015, Powerball increased the number of white balls from 59 to 69 and decreased the number of Powerballs from 35 to 26. Mega Millions two years later added 10 Mega Balls.

The adjustments lengthened one’s odds of winning the jackpots. For Powerball, the odds of matching all six numbers are one in 292.5 million. Mega Millions odds stand at one in 302.5 million.

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