IIn the US, the Powerball lottery jackpot has grown to $1.6 billion, making it the world’s largest grand prize in lottery history. The Powerball jackpot is now the “biggest lottery prize ever offered in the world,” the lottery operator said before the next draw on Saturday night.
The jackpot has grown steadily since there was last a winner in early August. Since then, in 39 draws, no player has been able to pick six correct numbers.
If a player hits the jackpot on Saturday night, they can expect $1.6 billion, the equivalent of around €1.64 billion. He can have the sum paid out over a period of around 30 years – or opt for a one-off payment of almost $782.4 million.
Less likely to win the lottery than to be struck by lightning
In January 2016, three Powerball players shared the world’s largest jackpot in history, amounting to $1.586 billion. The second highest jackpot – and the highest won by a single player – was worth $1.537 billion and was hit in October 2018 on the Mega Millions lottery.
Powerball lottery tickets cost two dollars and are sold in 45 US states as well as the metropolitan area of Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The chance of hitting the jackpot is about one in 292 million. For comparison, the risk of being struck by lightning in the United States is about one in a million.
