Powerball Jackpot Now $1.8B, But You're More Likely To Be Eaten By A Shark Than Win It

The estimated jackpot in Saturday’s Powerball drawing surged even higher to $1.8 billion, though players are about as likely to win it as they are to be eaten by a shark.

Still, the chance at the estimated $1.8 billion jackpot, which has a cash payout of an estimated $826.4 million, is fueling a frenzy of ticket sales across the country. Saturday’s estimated jackpot is the second-largest in U.S. lottery history. Powerball officials raised the jackpot by $100 million Friday in response to the rush to buy tickets.

The Powerball jackpot surged higher after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Wednesday night — white balls 3, 16, 29, 61, 69 and red Powerball 22. The Power Play multiplier was 2.

“Excitement is building as players look forward to [Saturday] night’s drawing for this historic jackpot,”Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, said in a news release. “We encourage everyone to play responsibly and take pride in knowing that every $2 ticket also helps support good causes in their community.”

Now, about those odds: They’re terrible, at 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes becoming ever larger as they repeatedly roll over when no one wins.

The sportsbook Bookies.com compared the odds of winning the jackpot to other “real life” events. The odds of being eaten by a shark are 1 in 264 million, although the odds of being attacked are lower, at 1 in 15 million.

Here are five more comparisons:

• A perfect NCAA basketball tournament bracket: 1 in 20.1 billion
• Becoming the U.S. president: 1 in 32.6 million
• Being struck by lightning twice: 1 in 19 million
• Dying in a plane crash: 1 in 11 million
• Being attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone: 1 in 2.7 million

Powerball officials note that the odds are far better — 1 in 24.9. — for the game’s many smaller prizes. More than 6.3 million tickets won a cash prize in Wednesday’s drawing.

Nationwide, 11 tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes in Wednesday's drawing. California and Georgia each had two $1 million tickets, and Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania each had one $1 million ticket.

Four tickets sold in Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming matched all five white balls, but were worth $2 million because the players purchased the $1 PowerPlay option.

There were also 117 tickets that won $50,000 prizes (Match 4 + PB) and 36 tickets that won $100,000 prizes (Match 4 + PB + Power Play).

In the Double Play drawing, two tickets sold in Pennsylvania and Maine, each won a $500,000 prize after matching all five black balls. Double Play is a $1 add-on feature that allows players to play their Powerball numbers again, in a separate drawing for a chance to win up to $10 million. Double Play drawings are held after each Powerball drawing.

Saturday’s drawing will be the 42nd since the Powerball jackpot was last won on May 31, 2025, in California. The current streak is the game record for the most consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. Previously, the record stood at 41 drawings, which occurred last on April 6, 2024, with a $1.326 billion jackpot won in Oregon.

Here are the top 10 Powerball jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Nov. 7, 2022 (California)
2. $1.80 billion (estimated), Saturday, Sept. 6
3. $1.765 billion, Oct. 11, 2023 (California)
4. $1.586 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 (California, Florida, Tennessee)
5. $1.326 billion, April 6, 2024 (Oregon)
6. $1.08 billion, July 19, 2023 (California)
7. $842.4 million, Jan. 1, 2024 (Michigan)
8. $768.4 million, March 27, 2019 (Wisconsin)
9. $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (Massachusetts)
10. $754.6 million, Feb. 6, 2023 (Washington)