Powerball hits $1 billion this weekend

This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history.

Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The jackpot has been growing each week because no one has matched all six numbers since May 31.

As ticket sales climbed this week, game officials raised the estimated Saturday night jackpot to $1 billion from $950 million, before taxes. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner can choose an immediate lump sum of $453 million, again before taxes.

The top Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion on Nov. 7, 2022. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.6 billion on Aug. 8, 2023.

The odds of matching all six numbers, of course, are daunting: 1 in 292.2 million. By comparison, the odds of getting a rare shark bite during a last summer dip in the ocean are 26 times more likely (1 in 11.5 million), according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.



(AP Photo Stephanie Scarbrough)