What the climbing Powerball jackpot could get you

Wednesday’s drawing marked the 41st attempt to find a winner since May 31 when a ticket was sold in California for a prize of $204.5 million. The record is 42 consecutive drawings.

The numbers selected were: 3, 16, 29, 61 and 69, with the Powerball number being 22.

The next drawing is Saturday night, Sept. 6.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

According to the Associated Press, the estimated $1.4 billion jackpot from Wednesday night’s drawing would have been for a winner who had opted to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which would have been an estimated $634.3 million.

How to play

Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Players can also multiply non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times with the Power Play option for an additional $1 per play.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, making your chances far better to catch a foul ball or win an Olympic medal.

‘People say this is where they win so this is where they keep coming back’

Bee-Gee’s Market in Kettering, which sold its first $1 million ticket in a historic October 2018 Mega Millions drawing, was fully prepared for a steady stream of customers that came through their doors Tuesday night.

“Lottery, for us, stays pretty brisk all the time, but when it gets like this it’s busier,” said Michael Sliger, owner of Bee-Gee’s. “We have seven terminals we keep running all the time and we have extra staff on hand to help with the crowd. The line goes very quickly.”

He also said there’s an added allure for lottery newbies when jackpots cross into eye-popping territory.

“Once it gets up to $500, $600 or $700 million — and definitely when people start seeing billion versus million — it brings people who don’t typically play,” Sliger said. “People have become a little jaded now. They’ll say they don’t want to play until the (jackpot) reaches $1 billion versus years ago when it was $20 million and they would be lined up out the door.”

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

With a longstanding reputation stretching beyond the Dayton region from nearby cities like Cincinnati and Columbus to states as close as Indiana and Kentucky and as far away as Alabama, Bee-Gee’s is proud to be a gathering spot for prizes of all sizes.

“We have had lots of winners and people have come from outside the state to play here,” Sliger said. “People say this is where they win so this is where they keep coming back. We try to satisfy the need when we can.”

He also said a $2 billion prize is possible for Saturday’s drawing.

“If nobody hits Wednesday, you’re looking at $1.7 or $1.8 billion for Saturday,” he said. “And once it gets that high, even more people that don’t typically play come in and, potentially, it could hit $2 billion for Saturday or Monday.”

Top 10 Powerball jackpots

What can you buy with $1 billion?

According to Reader’s Digest, there are multiple things you could buy with $1 billion:

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