Powerball Jackpot: Prize Soars To $650M

NEW YORK CITY, NY – Powerball fever gripped the city Sunday as the jackpot went unclaimed Aug. 19 – pushing the prize up to a massive $650 million.

The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 17, 19, 39, 43, 68 and Powerball 13. The next draw will be on Aug. 23.

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Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. The record in the game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was won by a group of Tennessee workers. And five months ago, on Feb. 22, a lucky player in Indiana won the $435 million Powerball jackpot, the 10th largest in the game's history.

Each ticket costs $2. Find out where you can buy your Powerball tickets here. The Powerball game is played by matching all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. The odds of picking the correct Powerball grand prize numbers are one in 292,201,338.

You apparently have a better chance of hitting the jackpot if you let the computer pick your numbers. The Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the Powerball game, says about 75 percent of winning tickets are selected when the numbers are chosen by a computer.

The lottery game is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball draws can be seen on hundreds of TV stations nationwide. It may also be available on cable or your mobile device. The draws are also posted on YouTube and on our site. Where to watch the Powerball drawing on TV.

Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed to this story.

»Patch file photo