Powerball jackpot at $1.9 billion for Monday drawing

Meanwhile, the world's largest lottery prize also tied the Powerball record for the number of consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner, according to the Powerball website.

Flashback: Aug. 3 was the last time the Powerball jackpot was won and the jackpot has rolled 40 times since then.

• Both the April 9 and Oct. 19 Powerball drawings this year had similar delays.
• Lottery officials said the only other Powerball jackpot run to reach 41 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner ended on Oct. 4, 2021, when a ticket sold in California won the $699.8 million jackpot.

What they're saying: "Like the rest of America, and the world, I think we’re all eager to find out when this historic jackpot will eventually be won," said Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania lottery executive director, in a statement.

• "As the excitement continues, we would like to remind players that Powerball was designed to be a fun and relatively inexpensive form of entertainment," Svitko said.
• "Please, know the odds and play within your limits. It only takes one ticket to win," Svitko said in the statement.

Monday Powerball drawing delayed for "security protocols"

Monday's drawing was delayed "due to a participating lottery needing extra time to complete the required security protocols," Powerball said in a statement late Monday.

What they're saying: "Powerball has strict security requirements that must be met by all 48 lotteries before a drawing can occur," the statement said.

• "When the required security protocols are complete, the drawing will be performed under the supervision of lottery security officials and independent auditors."

What we're watching: Powerball said the winning numbers and recorded video of the drawing will be posted to the Powerball website and YouTube channel.

• Drawings are usually held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59pm ET.
• The California Lottery tweeted that there was "no estimated time for the drawing."

Worth noting: Some users on social media said the delay coming ahead of Election Day could be a sign of what to expect with Tuesday's midterm elections results.

Winning Powerball numbers for Saturday drawing

The winning numbers in the drawing were 28, 45, 53, 56 and 69 with a red Powerball of 20.

Did anyone win the Powerball Saturday?

The intrigue: No, nobody won the jackpot, lottery officials said in a statement Sunday morning.

• Saturday's estimated grand prize grew to $1.657 billion from $1.6 billion.
• The estimated cash value was $810.2 million cash, up from $782.4 million.

Yes, but: Despite no jackpot winner, more than 10.9 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $102.2 million in the Nov. 5 drawing, according to Powerball.

• 16 tickets matched five white balls to win $1 million and a Kentucky ticket won a $2 million prize by matching all five white balls and including the Power Play option.
• 219 tickets nationwide won a $50,000 prize and 51 tickets won a $150,000 prize.

How to play Powerball game

State of play: Lottery players can pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers — five different numbers from 1 to 69 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

• "Quick Pick" or "Easy Pick" tickets can also be purchased where numbers are selected automatically.

Powerball jackpot annuity versus cash

How it works: In theory, Powerball jackpot winners can choose an "annuity option" instead of just taking the amount of money in the prize pool, Axios’ Felix Salmon reports.

• The annuity option is an annual payout over 30 years, with the sum paid out rising by 5% each year. The headline jackpot size is not the amount in the prize pool but rather the size of all those 30 payments, added together.
• No one has chosen the annuity option since 2014.

Powerball winning odds versus Mega Millions

Between the lines: Since the Powerball numbers are drawn from two sets of numbers, the lottery said the odds of winning a prize are calculated by combining the odds for both sets of numbers for all prize levels.

• The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
• The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9.

Separately, the jackpot odds for Mega Millions are 1 in 303 million.

Powerball ticket prices

Powerball tickets are $2 per play but for an extra $1 per play you can add the Power Play feature to "multiply non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times."

States selling Powerball lottery tickets

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not participate in the lottery.

Does buying more Powerball tickets increase odds?

Zoom out: If you buy tickets with different numbers, buying more tickets does increase your odds, said Tim Chartier, a distinguished visiting professor at the National Museum of Mathematics.

Yes, but: Flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times in a row has the same odds, Chartier said.

• The professor also suggests picking random numbers will help odds versus favorite numbers or birthdays.

What they’re saying: “You are almost 300 times more likely to get hit by lightning in your lifetime than to win Powerball,” said Chartier, who is also a professor at Davidson College.

• “While someone will win, it simply can take time given how unlikely it is,” Chartier said in an email. “The odds are made high enough to make the game compelling and get winners JUST common enough that we have hope in the improbable and, frankly, it makes it fun.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.

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