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Powerball Jackpot Hits $1.5 Billion
To quote Joshua, the computer from the movie War Games, "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?"
Jan. 10, 2016
If you pronounce it like Austin Powers, “one billion dollars” sure is a lot of money. The Powerball jackpot keeps getting higher, and now is over $1.5 billion, a world record.
Last Saturday, the Powerball drawing could have made someone about $900 million richer ($700 million as a lump sum). But none of the millions of lottery players across the U.S. had all five numbers plus the Powerball number. If taken as a lump cash payout instead of annualized payments, the new jackpot is worth about $930 million.
The Powerball lottery is offered in 44 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each ticket number costs $2, but players can opt to pay one dollar extra to double their winnings on all but the jackpot prize. Numbers can be randomly selected, or players can choose their own.
The next drawing, which will be for the $1.5 billion prize, is scheduled for Wednesday of this week. If there are again no winners, the prize will increase and roll over to the next Saturday drawing.
To quote Joshua, the computer from the movie War Games, “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?”