Several billion-dollar jackpots have been won on the US Powerball lottery in recent years. This is the largest payout in US lottery history. It is also the second time a jackpot has surpassed $1 billion, following the $1.586 billion jackpot won by three winners in 2016.
The prize pool is money that is paid to the winner of the jackpot. The advertised estimated jackpot is based on the amount of money in the prize pool at the time of the drawing, plus the expected sales of tickets for the next drawing. This means that a bigger jackpot is likely to have a larger total payout, which is why lottery operators are willing to invest more in the jackpot. In addition to the advertised jackpot, there are additional prizes available for the jackpot winner, such as a cash prize. These smaller prizes are also easier to win.
In the past few years, the lottery has made it easier for people to win the lesser prizes. These include the Just the Jackpot (JtJ) wager in Kansas, which allows players to choose their own numbers. This wager is most often terminal-generated, but is sometimes sold on a separate ticket from the regular Mega Millions play.
The Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the Powerball lottery, has been slowly expanding the game’s footprint in the United States. The initial expansion came in 2009, when MUSL partnered with a consortium of lotteries to change the Mega Millions format. This was the first time that the jackpot was advertised in advance. As a result, the odds of winning the jackpot increased from one in 292.2 million to one in 88.9. In January 1999, the jackpot was awarded in cash, rather than an annuity. Until then, jackpots had been paid in annuity payments for 30 years, or until the prize was claimed.
The jackpot for the Mega Millions has increased in size in the past few years, in part because of higher interest rates. Currently, 30-year zero-coupon Treasurys are yielding 4.4%. This means that the average jackpot is now worth about $451 million. This increase in the jackpot, along with an increased average jackpot win, prompted a number of state lotteries to add Just the Jackpot wagers to their games. The Kentucky Lottery recently added this option, allowing people to play the lottery just for the chance to win a jackpot.
The Wolverine FLL Club, a four-person lottery club in Michigan, won the Mega Millions jackpot with a single ticket purchased at Kroger in Novi. The club chose to take a lump-sum payment of $776 million, rather than an annuity.
The Powerball jackpot has also grown in the past few months, rising from $20 million to $1.9 billion when the drawing was held Monday. When the drawing was originally scheduled for 10:59 pm eastern time, it was delayed by several hours. The official YouTube channel posted the draw.
The Powerball jackpot is expected to continue growing, and is now the eighth biggest jackpot in the world. The jackpot has been steadily growing since August 6, when the prize was $20 million.
