Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s draw hits $760 million

LOS ANGELES — There were no tickets sold with all six numbers in the latest drawing of the multi-state Powerball lottery, pushing the estimated jackpot for Saturday’s drawing to $760 million.

There were two tickets sold with five numbers, but missing the Powerball number, including one sold at a convenience store in the Sacramento suburb of El Dorado Hills, which was worth $451,011, the California Lottery announced.

Powerball tickets with five numbers, but missing the Powerball number, sold in other states are worth $1 million or $2 million, but California law requires major payoffs of lottery games to be paid on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning they are determined by sales and the number of winners and can be less or more than $1 million.

The one sold in Texas was worth $2 million because the player utilized the Power Play option, where for an additional $1 per play, a ticket with five numbers, but missing the Powerball number, is worth $2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association which conducts the game.

The numbers drawn Wednesday were 4, 11, 38, 51, 68, and the Powerball number was 5. The estimated jackpot was $707 million.

The drawing was the 31st since the last time a ticket with all six numbers was sold.

The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24.9.

The Powerball game is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Source: Orange County Register