(WJW) — The Powerball’s mega-sized $1 billion jackpot is the second-largest in the game’s history, and is likely drawing far more players ahead of the Monday night drawing.
But even with more tickets floating around out there, your odds of winning something — even just a few bucks — off one ticket are the same: about 1 in 24.9, according to the Powerball website.
But hitting it big? Well, that’s a different story. The odds of your ticket matching the numbers on all five white balls and the red Powerball are about 1 in 292 million — no matter how many tickets are out there.
Those are better odds than winning Mega Millions — which are about 1 in 302 million — but you’re still more likely to get struck by lightning or elected president of the United States, according to financial website The Motley Fool.
The odds of matching just the five white balls’ numbers for a $1 million prize is a bit more realistic — relatively speaking, at least: about 1 in 11.7 million.
Jackpot winners can get a lump-sum payment or an annuity, with 30 graduated payments over 29 years.
If anyone hits the $1 billion Powerball jackpot in Monday’s 10:59 p.m. drawing, they could get a cash value of $497.3 million — a stack reaching nearly as high as One World Trade Center in New York, which is 1,776 feet tall.
But you better hurry — you’ve got until 10 p.m. to pick your numbers before the ticket pool closes.
It could happen to you … statistically speaking
Ohio-bought Powerball tickets have hit the jackpot three times since 2010, according to Powerball:
- On July 9, 2014, Mary Ann Thompson of Conneaut won a $124.9 million jackpot. She chose her own numbers and took the cash payout.
- On June 2, 2010, a blind trust and its trustee, George Hoffman, won a $261.6 million prize, and took the cash. The numbers were auto-picked.
- On June 23, 2010, a group of 14 auto paint shop workers from Detroit split a $97 million jackpot with other winners in Montana on a ticket bought near Toledo. The numbers were auto-picked and the group took the cash.
Four $1 million Powerball tickets have been sold so far this year in Ohio:
- On May 18 at a Speedway in Grove City
- On June 8 at a Circle K in Columbus
- On Sept. 10 at a Duchess in Columbus
- On Oct. 15 at a BP in Lyndhurst
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