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Powerball grows to $900M: Now third largest jackpot in game’s history

Crystal Graham
powerball lottery tickets
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It’s a similar refrain: There was no winner in the Saturday night Powerball jackpot meaning the jackpot has grown again, to an estimated $900 million, for the next drawing on Monday night.

The jackpot ranks as the third largest Powerball jackpot and the seventh largest U.S. lottery jackpot.

No ticket matched all six numbers drawn Saturday – white balls 2, 9, 43, 55, 57 and red Powerball 18. The Power Play multiplier was 2X.

Nationwide, the Powerball drawing produced more than 3 million winning tickets, with players winning prizes worth a combined $24.5 million.

Top-winning tickets in the Saturday, July 15, drawing include three tickets, sold in Colorado and Texas (2), that matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes.

There were also 89 tickets that matched four of the five white balls and red Powerball. Seventy-five of the tickets won $50,000 prizes. The other 14 tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1 per play and increased the $50,000 prize to $100,000.

The Powerball jackpot was last hit in the April 19 drawing,

If a player wins the jackpot on Monday night, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $900 million or a lump sum payment estimated at $465.1 million. Both prize options are before taxes.

If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The next Powerball drawing is Monday at 10:59 p.m. EST.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.