U.S. Powerball Grows to $1.9bn World Record Prize

The U.S. Powerball has hit a world record prize of $1.9 billion after no ticket holder won the prize on Saturday.

With no ticket matching the five winning numbers and the Powerball; 28, 45, 53, 56, 69 and 20, the pot rolls over with the biggest ever amassed prize in the United States and the world.

The premier lottery game hasn’t had a winner in over three months after 39 consecutive drawings. However, according to the organizers, the odds of claiming the life-changing jackpot in Monday’s draw are one in 292 million.

If there are multiple numbers with the same combination of numbers, they will share the jackpot. Although the Saturday drawing didn’t have a big prize winner, 16 tickets matched the five main numbers to get $1 million each.

The Powerball jackpot was last won on 3 August, with the owner opting for the upfront cash option of $206.9m pretax.

The lottery game started in 1992 and is played in 45 of the 50 states of the US, Washington, and in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

A Powerball ticket costs $2, and a winner can choose to go for the lump sum, which is currently estimated at $929m before tax or in annuity paid over 29 years. However, most winners prefer the first option, which is usually subjected to federal and state taxes.