Community Corner
Powerball Jackpot is 6th Largest in U.S. Lottery History
Are you going to play on Wednesday for a chance to win $400 million? Your odds are 1 in 175 million.
The Powerball jackpot is estimated to be $400 million when the next drawing is held on Wednesday, Feb. 19, with a $227.8 million one-time payout.
The total would give this drawing the sixth-highest annuity jackpot in American lottery history, which begs the question — which ones were bigger?
Philly.com lists the top 5 jackpots (annuitized):
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- $656 million (Mega Millions), March 30, 2012. Payout, $471 million to three winners.
- $648 million (Mega Millions), Dec. 17, 2013. Payout, $347.6 million to two winners.
- $590.5 million (Powerball), May 18, 2013. Payout, $370.9 million to one winner in Florida.
- $587.5 million (Powerball), Nov. 28, 2012. Payout, $384.7 million to two winners.
- $448.4 million (Powerball), Aug. 7, 2013. Payout, $258.2 million to three winners.
And in the true “you can’t win if you don’t play” spirit, Georgia residents have shared in three of the top 25 jackpots listed by Philly.com. That includes the Dec. 17, 2013, drawing shared by a Stone Mountain woman.
The state with the most winners in the top 25? New Jersey, with six (Georgia, Illinois and California are next at three each).
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Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Your odds of winning are about 1 in 175 million.
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