If won, this current jackpot will be the 12th largest Powerball prize to be won in the game’s history, ahead of a sum of $365 million won by a syndicate of seven men and a single woman from Nebraska in February 2006 and just shy of the $399.4 million jackpot claimed by an anonymous player from South Carolina in September 2013.
A winner would also have the honour of claiming the 18th largest sum in any lottery across the world, falling narrowly short of a Mega Millions prize of $380 million shared by two ticket holders from Idaho and Washington in January 2011. However, despite its immense size, tonight’s jackpot is still some way adrift of the biggest lottery prize in history, with a Powerball prize of $1.58 billion won on Wednesday 13th January 2016 still remaining the figure to beat.
Players in Indiana and Missouri may well feel the warm embrace of confidence ahead of the draw, with the two states having produced 70 of the 359 jackpot winners since the game’s inception in April 1992. The central regions are some way clear of the likes of Minnesota (22), Kentucky (18) and Pennsylvania (17), with the three chasing states yet to break through the magical 25 winners barrier.
Although, players in Maine, North Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont and the U.S. Virgin Islands might also fancy their chances, with the occurrence of a first-ever win bound to happen sooner rather than later. Participants in Vermont will be especially focused on securing the massive lottery prize on offer. The state has been part of the Powerball family since July 2003 and is still waiting to break its duck after almost 14 years, the longest of any of the winless states.
Regardless of where you live, winning tonight’s jackpot would prove life-changing. So, if you would like to write your name in Powerball folklore as one of the biggest jackpot winners in history, you can pick your numbers online or play through an authorised retailer in any of the participating states and jurisdictions. Good luck!
