Powerball jackpot grows to $1.23 billion after no winner Wednesday

• "Every time that jackpot grows and more people play, it increases the chances of it getting hit," Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania Lottery executive director, told Axios.

Driving the news: The cash option for the April 6 drawing increased to $595.1 million, according to a Powerball news release.

• Wednesday's drawing was the 40th consecutive drawing in this jackpot run. The last Powerball jackpot was won on Jan. 1.

Context: Powerball made the game harder to win in October 2015 when it added more white balls to the mix. Mega Millions changed its rules and odds in 2017.

• Changes to both lotteries were designed to create more possible number combinations, making the chances of winning more of a pipe dream.
• Lower odds of winning have meant larger jackpots with bigger prizes, leading more people to pick up tickets in hopes of winning.

Powerball winning numbers for April 3

The winning numbers in Wednesday's drawing were 11, 38, 41, 62 and 65 with a red Powerball of 15.

Did anyone win Powerball Wednesday?

The latest: Nobody matched all six numbers in Wednesday's drawing, according to Powerball.

• Nine tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes.

What time is Powerball drawing, how to watch live

Powerball drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The next drawing is at 10:59pm ET Saturday and will be broadcast live on the Powerball website and television stations across the country from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.

Powerball winning odds

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.

Yes, but: The odds of being struck by lightning in a year are less than one in a million, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How to play Powerball lottery

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.

Price of Powerball tickets and Power Play

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."

• The multiplier number is randomly selected just before each drawing.
• The Match 5 prize with Power Play is always $2 million, Powerball said.
• The 10X multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot annuity is $150 million or less, according to the lottery.

Powerball cut-off time: How late to buy tickets

The deadline to purchase tickets for Wednesday's drawing varies by state because Powerball tickets are sold by individual lotteries.

• The cut-off times are typically one to two hours before the drawing, according to Powerball.

Powerball lottery tickets for sale in these states

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.

Powerball prize amounts

By the numbers: Here are the prize amounts for matching numbers with and without the Powerball for all drawings:

• Powerball: $4
• One number and Powerball: $4
• Two numbers and Powerball: $7
• Three numbers: $7
• Three numbers plus Powerball: $100
• Four numbers: $100
• Four numbers plus Powerball: $50,000
• Five numbers: $1 million
• Five numbers plus Powerball: Jackpot

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Editor's note: This story was updated with the April 3 Powerball numbers and the increased jackpot after nobody won the grand prize Wednesday.