Powerball Jackpot Reaches Half a Billion Dollars; a Win Has Yet to Happen

The Powerball jackpot has reached half a billion dollars after another drawing with no jackpot winners. The Wednesday drawing did not award any Match 5 prizes either, but three players managed to win six-figure sums. Three Players Won $100,000 Each The Wednesday Powerball drawing had the jackpot set at $485 million with a cash option of $199.7 million. While this sum is surely life-changing, no actual winner emerged, since no one managed to match all six numbers in that drawing. The winning numbers drawn on October 7 were 11, 13, 14, 21, and 65. The red Powerball was 19, and the Power Play multiplier was 2x. The winning combination proved to be quite difficult for the players, as no one won a Match 5 prize either. For reference, Match 5 prizes require participants to guess all five white numbers to win a payout of $1 million ($2 million if Power Play is active). That didn’t stop players from matching four white numbers plus the red Powerball. Eight such players secured $50,000 each, while three others took home $100,000 each thanks to Power Play. Powerball Jackpot Reaches $516M Since the Powerball jackpot remained unclaimed, its hike toward the heights continued, allowing it to reach an important milestone. As a result, the estimated jackpot has surpassed the half-a-billion-dollar mark and is currently standing at $516 million. A hypothetical winner will be presented with a choice between the annuity option for the full sum or a one-time lump sum payment of $212.6 million. The next Powerball drawing is set to take place this Saturday, allowing players to test their luck once again. The latest drawing practically ended a four-week chain of consecutive Match 5 wins. As the Powerball action continues to heat up, more and more players have been winning Match 5 prizes. The most recent Match 5 prize was a $2 million payout in the state of Louisiana. Before that, a drawing ended up awarding four similar sums, with players in Illinois, New York, and North Carolina taking home $1 million each and a player in Puerto Rico securing $2 million thanks to the Power Play feature.