Powerball Jackpot At Record $1.6B: What To Know In MA

BOSTON, MA — The Powerball jackpot for the Saturday, Nov. 5, drawing now stands at $1.6 billion, the largest prize in U.S. lottery history. Players in Massachusetts need to pick up their tickets the Saturday drawing for a chance at the near-record lottery prize.

In Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, the winning numbers were 02, 11, 22, 35 and 60, with a Powerball of 23. In Massachusetts, one winning ticket worth $100,000 were claimed after Wednesday’s drawing.

Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. ET on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The estimated jackpot eclipses 2016’s world record $1.586 million Powerball jackpot, split by players in California, Florida and Tennessee.

Winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or they may take a cash payout, which is estimated at $782.4 million for Saturday’s game. Nearly all winners choose cash.

Federal taxes would about $187.8 million of the cash prize. Most states also tax lottery winnings. California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming don’t tax lottery winnings.

The odds of winning are abysmal, about 1 in 292.2 million. Odds of winning any prize are better, 1 in 24.9.

For comparison, the odds of getting bitten by a shark are about 1 in 3.7 million, and the odds of getting hit by a vehicle are 1 in 4,292.

A Powerball ticket costs $2. For an additional $1 per ticket, players can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times with the Power Play feature. One caveat: The 10X multiplier is only available when the advertised jackpot annuity is $150 million or less.

To win the jackpot, a player must match all white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. Lottery officials say chances are higher when players don’t choose their own numbers. About 75 percent of winning tickets over the years were picked by a computer.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Powerball, more than half of all ticket sales remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

The jackpot has gone unclaimed since Aug. 3. If no one wins the jackpot Saturday, it will grow even larger for Monday’s Powerball drawing.