AUSTIN – Due to robust ticket sales this weekend after no one won the Grand Prize on Saturday night, the jackpot for the Monday, Oct. 4 Powerball drawing has been increased to an estimated annuitized $685 million, making the current prize up for grabs the sixth largest in game history and the eighth largest in U.S. jackpot history. Monday’s drawing now offers a cash value worth an estimated $485.5 million.
“Mondays just got better with the addition of a third weekly Powerball drawing – the only thing better will be congratulating the Texan who wins this jackpot,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “I look forward to meeting that winner, but also want to remind our players to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win.”
The Powerball jackpot has rolled 40 times without a winner since the jackpot started as an estimated annuitized $20 million for the June 9 drawing. This is the highest the Powerball jackpot has been since January, when dueling jackpot runs produced an estimated annuitized $731.1 million Powerball jackpot and a $1.05 billion Mega Millions® jackpot, both of which were won by players out-of-state.
Since joining the Powerball game in 2010, Texas has had two Powerball Grand Prize winners, including its most recent in February 2015 when TL Management Trust, Andrew Weber, Trustee of Austin, claimed a share of the $564.1 million Grand Prize with two other winners.
Powerball Grand Prizes currently start at $20 million and roll until the jackpot is won. Players win the Grand Prize by matching five numbers from a field of 69 numbers and one Powerball number from a field of 26 numbers. By choosing Power Play® for $1 more per play, players can multiply their non-Grand Prize winnings by two, three, four, five or 10 times*. A Power Play Match Five (5+0) prize is set at $2,000,000 regardless of the Power Play number selected. All other non-Grand Prizes will be multiplied by the Power Play number selected. *The 10X Power Play multiplier is available for drawings in which the initially advertised annuitized Grand Prize amount is $150 million or less.
Drawings are broadcast each Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:12 p.m. CT. Texas Lottery players can purchase Powerball tickets at more than 20,000 Texas Lottery retailers across the state. Ticket sales for the next Powerball drawing will close at 9 p.m. CT on Monday, Oct. 4.