WASHINGTON — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.8 billion for Saturday’s drawing, offering a cash value of approximately $826.4 million. 

It’s now the second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. The only prize larger was the $2.04 billion jackpot won in November 2022.

The jackpot for Saturday’s drawing was initially set at $1.7 billion, but game leaders increased the estimate Friday morning due to an influx in ticket purchases. 

There have been 42 drawings without a big winner since May.

This lottery streak has produced “101 winning tickets worth $1 million or more, and more than a thousand winning tickets worth $50,000 or more,” Powerball said.

Although nobody won the grand prize in Wednesday’s drawing, there were over a dozen new millionaires who matched all five white balls. 

So, did anyone win Saturday’s near record breaking 

Wednesday’s winning numbers were 11-23-44-61-62 and Powerball 17. The Power Play multiplier was 2x.

The lottery website crashed at drawing time Saturday, leaving many looking for the numbers staring at an error code. 

If a winner matches all five numbers and the Powerball, they have the option to take the full jackpot paid out over 30 years, or a smaller cash payout. Winners almost always take the cash option.

Even with the smaller lump sum payout, federal taxes will eat into those winnings, and some states also tax big lottery prizes. 

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million. The odds of matching all five white balls and winning the $1 million prize are 1 in 11,688,053. The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.87.

The Powerball drawing takes place live at 10:59 p.m. ET every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The top 6 largest Powerball wins have all surpassed $1 billion. Powerball lottery games have potentially huge jackpots because they are played in multiple states. 

1. $2.04 Billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
2. $1.80 Billion (estimated) – Sept. 6, 2025
3. $1.765 Billion – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
4. $1.586 Billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
5. $1.326 Billion – April 6, 2024 – OR
6. $1.08 Billion – July 19, 2023 – CA
7. $842.4 Million – January 1, 2024 – MI
8. $768.4 Million – March 27, 2019 – WI
9. $758.7 Million – Aug. 23, 2017 – MA
10. $754.6 Million – Feb. 6, 2023 – WA