WASHINGTON — The Powerball jackpot is growing again after nobody won Monday's $545 million prize. The total will climb to at least $570 million for Wednesday night's drawing, the eighth-largest in the game's history.
The winning numbers Monday were 21-22-39-44-60 and the Powerball is 12. The Power Play is 2X.
There was only one ticket that correctly picked all five white balls. It was sold in Virginia and had the Power Play added, so it's worth $2 million.
In order to win the jackpot, a person has to correctly match all five white ball numbers and the Powerball. The odds of doing that are 1 in 292.2 million.
If someone wins Wednesday and takes the cash payout, they would walk away with $410.1 million.
Back in January, a Maryland group who nicknamed themselves “The Power Pack” won $731.1 million, which was the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot ever. They chose the $546.8 million lump sum cash option – approximately $366.6 million after federal and state taxes.
Last Tuesday, one Mega Millions ticket sold in New York correctly had all six numbers for an estimated $432 million. If the winner chooses the cash option, it would be worth $315 million. It was the first jackpot win for Mega Millions since June 8.
Powerball is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Last month, Powerball added a Monday drawing to its weekly lineup of Wednesday and Saturday evening drawings. At the time of the announcement, Powerball proclaimed the addition of the Monday drawing would lead to "larger, faster-growing jackpots."
The Powerball website says game sales are usually stronger for a Saturday drawing versus a Wednesday or Monday drawing, which means the jackpot will be pushed higher on those days.
