Wednesday’s estimated $700-million Powerball jackpot is second biggest in game history
In early 2016, State Lottery officials proclaimed that their $700-million Powerball jackpot was “unprecedented.”
At the time, it was the biggest jackpot in game history. But nobody won, and the prize continued to roll over. The jackpot eventually reached $1.6 billion by the time three winning tickets were sold. The buyers included a lucky family in Chino Hills.
Now, another jackpot estimated at $700 million is within reach of Powerball players.
Nobody has matched all six numbers since June 11, a 20-game streak, California State Lottery officials said Tuesday.
The estimated lump sum cash value of the prize is $443.3 million. It ties the second-largest prize in game history.
Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. The minimum jackpot for the twice-weekly drawing is $40 million with at least $10 million added on each time no one matches all the numbers.
The odds of winning are 1 in 292.2 million, or 0.0000000034%.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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