(Reuters) – An estimated $1.73 billion is up for grabs in the multistate Powerball drawing on Wednesday night, the second-largest lottery jackpot in history.
The drawing, set for 11 p.m. (0300 GMT on Thursday), is the 36th since a Powerball player hit the jackpot three months ago. In July, a ticket in California matched all six numbers to win a grand prize worth $1.08 billion.
The long-shot odds of winning are 1 in 292.2 million. For comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning over the next year is 1 in 1.22 million, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.
If there is a single winner on Wednesday, the lucky ticket holder would have the choice of having the estimated jackpot paid out over 30 years, or receive an estimated $756.6 million lump-sum payment.
Wednesday’s purse falls just short of the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by a single-ticket holder in California in November 2022. That set a world record, according to Powerball.
Powerball tickets, which cost $2 each, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than half of ticket proceeds remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.
Powerball drawings are held in the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
