Powerball Jackpot Rolls, How High Will It Go?
The Powerball jackpot has rolled to $60 million after no one matched all five winning numbers and the red Powerball number for the past two drawings. As more high jackpots are expected in the future following changes to the Powerball lottery in Oct. 2015, some are hoping the current jackpot will surpass the previous record-breaking $1.5 billion that resulted in three winners on Jan. 13, 2016.
Powerball fever swept the nation while people waited in line for their chance to become a multi-millionaire. As the economy continues to stay at a sluggish standstill, more people than ever before are looking to the lottery as a way to suddenly strike it rich. And while some of the lottery changes will see an increase in non-jackpot winners, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot or any lottery’s jackpot remains low. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. Gary Grief of the Texas Lottery explained how the redesign of Powerball would result in larger, billion dollar jackpots like the one seen on Jan. 13, 2016.
“Powerball has been revamped seven other times in its 23-year history so that the game can continue to be attractive to players by delivering the big jackpots that players want, and these new changes will do just that.”
ALSO ON @GMA: #Powerball fever from @tjholmes, @ABCSharkTank as $1.5 billion #Powerball drawing is set for tonight. pic.twitter.com/XJHdHg02j5
— ABC News (@ABC) January 13, 2016
Knowing that the Powerball jackpots will continue to increase makes one stop to wonder just how large they could ultimately become. Will there be another Powerball jackpot to surpass the $1.5 billion?
Coming up at 10pm on @wsbradio: @tomreganWSB and @CarlWillisWSB from #wsbtv on #Powerball fever! pic.twitter.com/e1BOk20KoX
— Mark Arum (@MarkArum) January 14, 2016
When playing for big Powerball jackpots, it’s important to understand the rules of the game, as well as the odds. By knowing the odds of winning you can keep a realistic perspective in mind. Powerball players must be 18-years-old and will need to have identification in order to claim their winnings. Once you purchase your Powerball ticket, sign the back of it with a ball point pen and fill out the information. The ticket is yours and must be in good condition in order for you to turn it in. If the ticket is damaged, the clerk where you purchased may not be able to accept it and you will be required to send it to your state’s lottery headquarters. You might also lose your winnings if the ticket is damaged to the point it is unreadable. Keep in mind that all Powerball tickets must be turned in within 180 days of winning. You might think that a winning ticket would always be turned in; but that isn’t always the case.
The Powerball drawing is held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m., ET. The next drawing is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016. The Powerball jackpot amount today is an estimated $60 million and will continue to roll should there not be a winner on Saturday. Many people like to search for the past 25 Powerball winning numbers. The official Powerball lottery site has a text file that lists Powerball winning numbers dating back to 1997. Knowing past Powerball winning numbers helps those who are playing for a jackpot choose number combinations and detect winning numbers that occur more frequently than others.
Right now there are two big jackpots at play in the multi-state lottery games: Powerball and Mega Millions. The Powerball jackpot is at $60 million and the Mega Millions jackpot is at $39 million. While the Powerball drawing is on Saturday, the next Mega Millions jackpot drawing will take place on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, at 11 p.m., ET.
Do you play either Powerball or Mega Millions and are you excited about a future with big jackpots?
[Photo by Phil Spears/AP]
