TALLAHASSEE – The POWERBALL® jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is an estimated $650 million; the largest in the nation and second largest in the game’s history. In addition to the jackpot, players have the opportunity to win a variety of lower-tier prizes ranging from $4.00 to $2 million by matching any of the non-jackpot-winning combinations.
“Last week the Florida Lottery reached another epic milestone of $32 billion in total contributions to education,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Jim Poppell. “POWERBALL jackpots like this one are an exciting way for Floridians to have a chance to win a life-changing prize while also helping to benefit Florida’s students and schools.”
While there was no jackpot winner in Saturday night’s drawing, Florida POWERBALL players still won big, with more than 388,000 winning tickets totaling more than $5.1 million in prizes, including two $1 million winners in Ocoee and Orlando. During this jackpot series, more than 1.8 million Florida players have won more than $18.4 million in prizes.
Jackpot prizes are paid in 30 annual installments or as a one-time, lump-sum payment. Winners have 180 days from the applicable drawing to claim their prize. To receive the cash option of an estimated $411.7 million, jackpot prizes must be claimed within 60 days of the drawing.
The integrity of all games is of utmost importance to the Florida Lottery. Players are encouraged to sign the back of their ticket at the time of purchase and keep them in a safe place. Players are reminded to check their tickets carefully; even if they don’t win the jackpot, they can still win cash prizes of up to $2 million.
Players who want the chance to become Florida’s 13th POWERBALL jackpot winner can purchase tickets at any of the more than 13,000 authorized Florida Lottery retailers across the state. The Florida Lottery would like to remind all players to play responsibly; it only takes one ticket to win. Like all Florida Lottery products, players must be 18 or older to play.
Wednesday night’s POWERBALL drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. ET. Tickets must be purchased by 10:00 p.m. ET to be eligible for this drawing. National POWERBALL drawings are broadcast live, in high-definition, from the Florida Lottery’s state of the art draw studio in Tallahassee. Florida Lottery game drawings are broadcast on 17 carrier stations throughout the state.
ABOUT POWERBALL IN FLORIDA
Since joining POWERBALL in 2009, the game has generated $1.68 billion in contributions to education statewide. Florida is among the top-selling POWERBALL states in the country, with more than 76.3 million winning tickets totaling more than $2.2 billion in prizes, including 12 jackpot winners. Florida was also one of the three states nationally to have a winner share in the world record-setting $1.586 billion POWERBALL jackpot in January 2016.
ABOUT THE FLORIDA LOTTERY
The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $32 billion to education and sending more than 750,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 98 percent of its revenue back into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Florida retailers and contributions to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $52.4 billion in prizes and made more than 1,900 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.flalottery.com.
CONTACT:
FLORIDA LOTTERY COMMUNICATIONS
(850) 487-7727
www.flalottery.com
