Benjamin Caldwell|Monday night’s $785M Powerball jackpot is 9th largest lottery prize. Odds of winning are miserable

2025-05-07 03:01:33source:Blake Prestoncategory:My

DES MOINES,Benjamin Caldwell Iowa (AP) — The ninth-largest lottery jackpot will be on the line Monday night when numbers are drawn for a $785 million Powerball prize.

The payout has grown so large because it has been building for more than two months, since a player in California matched all six numbers on July 19 and won $1.08 billion. That’s 28 consecutive drawings without a big winner.

That winless streak is due to the miserable odds of winning the Powerball jackpot, at 1 in 292.2 million. It’s those long, long odds that result in such large top prizes, as they cause the jackpot to roll over week after week.

Although the game highlights the $785 million prize, that is for a winner who is paid through an annuity over 30 years. Winners almost always choose the cash payout option, which for Monday night’s drawing would be $367 million.

The giant jackpot would also be subject to federal taxes, and some states also tax lottery winnings.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

More:My

Recommend

Man charged with rape after kidnapping 3 teen girls at gunpoint along Nashville street

A man police say kidnapped three teenage girls and sexual assaulted two of them at gunpoint outside

A naturalist finds hope despite climate change in an era he calls 'The End of Eden'

On a chilly morning this fall, Adam Welz wades through chest high grass in New York state's Adironda

12 Turkish soldiers have been killed over 2 days in clashes with Kurdish militants, authorities say

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Six Turkish soldiers were killed Saturday in clashes with Kurdish militants