The fifth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history — $1.6 billion — will be up for grabs in Monday evening’s multi-state Powerball lottery drawing after the record 46th consecutive drawing without a ticket with all six numbers sold.
A ticket with all six numbers hasn’t been sold since Sept. 6, when one ticket each with all six numbers was sold in Missouri and Texas when the jackpot had reached $1.787 billion, the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
The jackpot is the fourth-largest in the history of the Powerball game, which began in 1992. There has been one larger jackpot for the Mega Millions game, which began in 1996 as The Big Game and was given the new name Mega Millions in 2002.
If a player wins the jackpot, he or she will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.6i billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. Both prize options are before taxes.
If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.
The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which conducts the game. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24.9.
The Powerball game is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.