Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.23 billion after no big winner Wednesday

Just over a week after a winning ticket was sold for a $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot, there were no winning tickets for Wednesday night's estimated $1.09 billion Powerball grand prize. So an estimated pot of gold of at least $1.23 billion will be up for grabs in the next Powerball drawing on Saturday night. The amount could rise as more and more tickets are gobbled up.

Saturday's jackpot will be Powerball's fourth biggest ever and the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history.  

The winning numbers for Wednesday night's Powerball drawing were 11, 38, 41, 62, 65 and Powerball 15.

A jackpot winner would have had the option of having the money doled out in one immediate payout followed by annual payments over 29 years or a single lump sum payment of an estimated $527.3 million.

All prize amounts are before taxes.

The estimated cash value of Saturday night's jackpot will be at least $595.1 million.

The last Powerball jackpot win came on New Year's Day, when a single ticket in Michigan had the numbers for a top prize of $842.2 million.

Players win the jackpot by matching all five white balls and the red Powerball. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are around 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball, but smaller prizes are available. The chances of winning any prize, the smallest of which is $4, are 1 in 24.87.

Powerball tickets are $2 each. They're sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

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