Powerball Jackpot Leaps Over Half-Billion Dollar Mark
March 18, 2019CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The jackpot for Wednesday’s Powerball drawing is an estimated $550 million – the eighth largest Powerball jackpot on record. The cash option is an estimated $335 million.
“The Powerball jackpot continues to grow and so does the excitement among our players,” said John Myers, West Virginia Lottery Director. “We have had eight Powerball jackpot winners in our history and we would love to see number nine this week. We encourage all of our players to play responsibly.”
The jackpot leaped over the half-billion dollar mark after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Saturday night. The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing were white balls 30, 34, 39, 53, 67, plus Powerball 11, and Power Play multiplier 2X.
Participating lotteries are reminding players to check their tickets for one of the nine ways to win. In Saturday’s drawing alone, 44 tickets matched four white balls and the red Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. Those winning tickets were sold in 24 different jurisdictions.
Other big winners include two tickets that won a $1 million prize by matching all five white balls. The $1 million-winning tickets were sold in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. One ticket in North Dakota doubled the prize to $2 million by including the Power Play® option. In total, there were more than 1.9 million winning tickets across all prize tiers.
The Powerball jackpot was last hit in New York in the December 26 drawing. Since then, there have been 23 drawings in a row without a jackpot winner.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot prizes with the Power Play® option for an additional $1 per play. Tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET and West Virginia players have until 9:59 p.m. on a draw date to purchase their tickets.
