The Powerball jackpot has increased again, rising to an estimated $1.55 billion after Saturday’s drawing yielded a handful of $1-million prizes, including one in California, but no big winner.
The lucky ticket-buyer at the Town & Country Market in San Francisco matched the first five numbers but not the red Powerball, winning $1.31 million, according to the California Lottery. Ten tickets across the country matched the five white balls for $1-million prizes Saturday, with an estimated $1.4-billion jackpot up for grabs.
The next chance for someone to win it all is Monday night, which will be the 35th drawing in this jackpot cycle. Nobody has won the Powerball’s top prize since a winning ticket was sold July 19 at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles for a $1.08-billion jackpot. That winner has not yet come forward to claim the prize.
This is the first time in Powerball history that two back-to-back jackpots will surpass $1 billion. The estimated $1.55-billion jackpot for Monday’s drawing would be the third-largest Powerball jackpot and fourth-largest U.S. lottery prize of all time.
Last year, an Altadena gas station sold a ticket for the largest Powerball jackpot in history: $2.04 billion. The winner claimed the lump sum prize and has since purchased a $25.5-million Hollywood Hills home in March and a $4-million Altadena mansion later that same month.
If a ticket matches all five numbers plus the red Powerball on Monday, the winner will have the choice between a lump sum payment of an estimated $679.8 million or the $1.55-billion prize spread over 30 years, before taxes, Powerball officials said.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to officials, and tickets cost $2 each.
