Home Powerball lottery continues to rise; jackpot now estimated at $725 million
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Powerball lottery continues to rise; jackpot now estimated at $725 million

Crystal Graham
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The Powerball drawing scheduled for Saturday night has an estimated jackpot of $725 million. This is the eighth largest jackpot in the game’s history.

The Powerball drawing on Wednesday night did not have a ticket that matched all six numbers. The numbers drawn were white balls 16, 27, 59, 62, 63 and red Powerball 23. The Power Play multiplier was 3X.

The Wednesday drawing produced more than a million winning tickets across the country, including a ticket in Georgia that matched all five white balls to win a $1 million prize. Two other tickets, sold in Georgia and Texas, matched all five white balls and won $2 million prizes by including the prize multiplier feature, Power Play, for an additional $1 per play.

Other big wins from Wednesday night include 25 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 11 tickets that won $150,000 prizes.

The upcoming drawing on Saturday night will be the 28th drawing in the jackpot run.

If a player wins the jackpot on Saturday night, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $725 million or a lump sum payment estimated at $345.7 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.

More than half of all proceeds from the sale of a Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. In Fiscal Year 2023, the lottery raised more than $867 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.

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 nearly 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. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.