Powerball jackpot of $685 million would be 8th largest in history
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Michigan Mega Millions ticket wins $1 billion jackpotSomeone in Michigan bought the winning ticket for the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which was the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. (Jan. 23)Will the jackpot drought for the now eighth-largest lottery in U.S. history end Monday night?
While the lure of the $685 million grand prize is intoxicating, the odds, sadly, are not in your favor: Just 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.
To put it more bluntly: You are more than 1,000 times as likely to find a pearl in an oyster shell, get struck by lightning or date a supermodel.
And you are twice as likely to be killed by a vending machine.
The jackpot would be the sixth largest in Powerball's history and the eighth largest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time, according to Powerball. If the winner claims the cash option as opposed to a 30-year payout, the person would walk away with $474.8 million.
"A jackpot of this magnitude doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, we see an influx of new players to the game which drives the jackpot even higher," May Scheve Reardon, Powerball Product Group Chair and Missouri Lottery Executive Director, said in a statement.
The last jackpot was hit in early June, when a ticket worth $285.6 million was sold in Florida, according to Powerball. Since then, there have been a record 40 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.
"More than 90% of the time we would expect a Powerball Grand Prize winner on the 40th draw or before," the Multi-State Lottery Association told USA TODAY. "Every jackpot cycle is unique and dependent on sales and the current interest rate environment."
Despite the lack of a winner, many tickets in recent weeks have matched the numbers needed for smaller prizes. On Saturday, one ticket sold in Massachusetts matched the $1 million prize, and 66 tickets matched the $50,000 prize.
The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9, according to Powerball.
"Players should check their tickets closely, because even though they didn’t win the jackpot, they may have won a lower-tier prize," Scheve Reardon said.
Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
The drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET and are also live streamed online at Powerball.com.
Contributing: Kaitlyn Kanzler, NorthJersey.com
