What are your odds of winning the next Powerball jackpot of $1.4 billion? - Los Angeles Times
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No big winner yet. What are your odds of winning the next Powerball jackpot of $1.4 billion?

Man filling out a lottery ticket.
Lewis Hensley, 62, of Highland Park purchases a lotto ticket at Foremost Liquor Store on Sunday in South Pasadena. No one picked all six numbers in the Powerball lottery on Wednesday.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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Wednesday’s Powerball drawing didn’t produce any big winners, raising the jackpot to $1.4 billion for the next drawing this Saturday and luring players to a former winning spot.

This estimated jackpot ranks as the third largest in the Powerball game and fifth largest among all U.S. lottery jackpots, according to Multi-State Lottery Assn.’s news release. It will also be the 34th drawing in the jackpot run without a player matching all six numbers, and the first time in Powerball history that back-to-back cycles have generated billion-dollar grand prizes.

The Powerball jackpot was previously won in July, with the big winner claiming about $1 billion. It was the third-largest Powerball jackpot in history and the seventh-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever. The winner never publicly came forward, but the ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles.

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The market’s operator, Maria Menjivar, said people are driving hundreds of miles to buy tickets at her store.

“My business has increased over 40%,” she told the California Lottery.

With the purchase of a ticket, she said, customers are buying other items from her store.

Revisiting a lucky spot is a common phenomenon whenever a lottery retailer sells a big winning ticket, according to the California Lottery.

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The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

If a player wins the jackpot on Saturday night, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.4 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $643.7 million before taxes, according to the news release.

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

Wednesday’s drawing produced more than 3.2 million winning tickets of smaller amounts across the country, including seven tickets that matched all five white balls to win $1-million prizes. Three tickets matched all five white balls and increased the $1-million prize to $2 million by including the Power Play feature for an additional $1 per play.

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Other big wins include 81 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 13 tickets that won $100,000 prizes.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Powerball drawings are also livestreamed on Powerball.com.

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