Powerball Jackpot Balloons To $1.7 Billion For Christmas Eve Drawing In RI

Lottery players will be hoping for a Christmas miracle: the Powerball jackpot stands at a whopping $1.7 billion for Wednesday's drawing.

The top prize began ramping up in early September, after players in Missouri and Texas cashed in on the previous $1.787 billion jackpot. According to lottery officials, this is the second time back-to-back Powerball jackpots have hit $1 billion.

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The winning numbers in Monday's drawing were 3-18-36-41-54 with Powerball number 7. There were $1 million winners in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

In Monday's drawing, a $50,000 ticket was sold at a Westerly Mobil.

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Last month, a $50,000 ticket was sold at Fairmount Liquors in Woonsocket.

Players can buy their Powerball tickets in participating stores. Merchants who sell a winning ticket will receive 1% of the ticket's prize amount.

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Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

The chances of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.

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Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of all proceeds from the sale of a Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold. Since its first drawing in 1992, the Powerball game has helped generate more than $36 billion for good causes supported by U.S. lotteries.

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