If you’ve missed out on the other recent, record-breaking lottery jackpots, then the next Powerball drawing is yet another long shot at becoming a billionaire overnight.
There is a cool $1.55 billion Powerball jackpot at stake in Monday night’s drawing, which is the third biggest Powerball jackpot in history, and the fourth largest grand prize among U.S. lottery jackpots, Powerball said.
This is also the first time in Powerball history that back-to-back jackpot cycles have ballooned to billion-dollar grand prizes, the lottery giant said. The previous jackpot, which reached $1.08 billion, was won by a lucky ticket holder in California last July. Since then, there have been 34 drawings in the current jackpot run with no grand-prize winner, and Monday night’s pick will be drawing No. 35.
So here’s everything you need to know if you want to play — and if you actually win.
What time is the Powerball drawing?
The next drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Oct. 9. And for future reference, Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. So, if no one wins again tonight, the next drawing will be on Wednesday.
Where can you watch the Powerball drawing, or see the winning numbers?
You can watch Powerball drawings live on the lottery’s website, and Powerball also shows clips of drawings on its YouTube channel.
You can also tune into local broadcast TV stations, as the drawing is usually shown live on channels like ABC, CBS, and NBC — but check your local listings.
How do you play Powerball?
Powerball costs $2 per play — although, in Idaho and Montano, it’s bundled with Power Play, which makes it cost $3 per play. You can buy tickets in-person at many gas stations, grocery stores, corner delis and convenience stores, and some states and jurisdictions let you buy tickets online or on your phone.
You’ll select five numbers between 1 and 69 for the white balls, and then one number between 1 and 26 for the red Powerball. You can manually select the numbers yourself on a play slip, which you give back to the cashier to receive a printout of those numbers. Or, you can let a lottery terminal randomly pick your digits for you with “Quick Pick.”
You score the grand prize jackpot if you match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
You could also shoot for the Power Play, paying an extra $1 per play to possibly see your winnings increase by two, three, four, five and 10 times as much.
What are the odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot?
The odds are pretty long; Powerball says you’ve got a 1 in 292,201,338 chance of scoring the grand prize jackpot, based on a $2 play. The odds are better of winning a smaller prize, however — you’ve got a 1 in 24.87 chance on winning any prize.
You have a better chance making money by investing in the stock market, as MarketWatch’s Andrew Keshner wrote ahead of the Mega Millions jackpot in August that also climbed over $1.55 billion.
How much do you get if you win the Powerball jackpot?
If someone defies those long odds to win the jackpot on Monday night, Powerball says they will have the choice between the annuitized prize worth an estimated $1.55 billion that will be paid out to them in yearly installments over time. Or, they can opt for a more immediate lump sum payment that is estimated at a $679.8 million.
On the annuity payment, Powerball said that the winner will receive one immediate payment, followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.
Should you take the lump-sum payment, or the annuity?
That depends on your personal situation, as Robert Pagliarini, author of “The Sudden Wealth Solution” who has been guiding lottery winners for decades, told MarketWatch. He leans toward annuity, since it will come closer to hitting the advertised $1.55 billion jackpot than lump-sum takers would get, even after taxes. And he also strongly recommends speaking with a financial planner. Which leads us to:
If you win the lottery, whether it’s Powerball or Mega Millions or another grand prize, then what should you do first?
Sudden-wealth expert Pagliarini has walked MarketWatch through what steps to take if you become a sudden millionaire or billionaire overnight, or if you come into a sudden financial windfall. It includes documenting that the winning ticket is yours, keeping it a secret and getting legal and financial advisers ASAP.
You can read more about what to do if you win Powerball or another lottery here.
Curious about what winning the lottery is like? Some previous winners have shared their rise and fall in fortune with MarketWatch, including a 2007 Mega Millions winner who scored a $112 million prize.
Read the full article here