DES MOINES, Iowa – There is a $ 730 million jackpot winner in the Powerball, the first to win the top prize in months.
Thanks to math and bad luck, lottery players had another shot at a massive jackpot on Wednesday night with a Powerball prize of $ 730 million at stake. The winning ticket was sold in Maryland, bringing the new jackpot to an estimated $ 20 million for the next drawing Saturday.
The Powerball jackpot was the fifth largest ever and only came a day after no one won the even bigger Mega Millions prize, which now stands at $ 970 million.
Winning numbers for Wednesday night’s Powerball draw were: 40-53-60-68-69 and a Powerball of 22.
It was the first time that both lottery jackpots exceeded $ 700 million. The biggest prize was a $ 1.58 billion Powerball jackpot won by three people in 2016.
No one had won any of the jackpots since mid-September, allowing the prizes to grow steadily for months. Such a long trajectory without a winner is rare, but it also reflects the incredibly low odds – 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions.
Maryland lottery spokeswoman Carole Gentry said the Mega Millions draw brought in $ 260 million in sales Tuesday night, resulting in 36% of all possible number combinations.
Prizes listed are for winners who choose an annuity option, paid out over 30 years. Most winners will choose cash prizes, which would be $ 716.3 million for Mega Millions and $ 546 million for Wednesday’s Powerball. After the Powerball win, the new jackpot has a cash value of $ 15 million.
Those prices would also be subject to federal taxes, and most states would receive a discount as well.