Keith Srakocic/AP
Twenty-nine consecutive Powerball drawings have passed without a jackpot winner.
CNN
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Powerball players will vie for an estimated $850 million jackpot during Wednesday night’s drawing.
The lottery’s grand prize grew from $785 million when no winner matched all six numbers Monday night. An $850 million jackpot would be the fourth-largest in the game’s history, according to Powerball.
The most recent Powerball jackpot win – $1.08 billion, the third-largest in the game’s history – came on July 19 in California. Since then, 29 consecutive drawings have happened without a grand prize.
A jackpot winner Wednesday night would have the option of taking the whole prize in payments over 29 years, or a lump sum of an estimated $397.4 million, both before taxes, the lottery said.
The largest Powerball jackpot – $2.04 billion – was won by one ticket in California in November.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery.
