After 30 years of drawings, the anticipated prize for Powerball Jackpot has increased to $400 million.
On April 22, 1992, a $1 ticket was sold for the inaugural drawing of the American lottery game. Initial participation was limited to the 14 states plus the District of Columbia. In the first drawing, a $5.9 million ($12 million today) winning ticket was sold in Indiana.
After 28 draws without a jackpot winner, the next drawing will take place on Saturday, with a cash value of $240.8. Tickets cost $2 and are available in 45 states, including U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
There have been 393 Powerball jackpot-winning tickets sold totalling $25 billion in rewards since the Powerball began. The Feb. 14 drawing saw a ticket sold in Connecticut win $185.3 million.
So far this year, the jackpot has only been won once. The $632.6 million Powerball jackpot, the seventh-largest in the game’s history, was divided between two tickets sold in California and Wisconsin on January 5.
In January 2016, the highest Powerball jackpot in history was $1.586 billion.
According to Powerball, the jackpot chances are 1 in 292.2 million, while the odds of winning a lottery prize are 1 in 24.9.
