Powerball ticket sold in California wins estimated $1.73 billion jackpot

A single ticket sold in California won Wednesday night’s gargantuan estimated $1.73 billion Powerball jackpot, lottery officials say.

The holder or holders of the winning ticket will have a choice of a lump sum payment of roughly $756.6 million before taxes or an annuity option consisting of an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments.  

There hadn’t been any Powerball grand prize winners since a single ticket sold in Los Angeles claimed a $1.08 billion pot of gold on July 19. Wednesday night’s drawing was the 36th since then, lottery officials said.

This marked the first time in Powerball history that three back-to-back jackpots reached the billion-dollar mark, according to Powerball officials.

The biggest jackpot in both Powerball and U.S. lottery history was $2.04 billion, which was won in November 2022 by a man who was also in the Los Angeles area.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

Powerball tickets are $2 each. They’re sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings take place Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m. EDT.

Billion-dollar lottery jackpots have become more common in recent years as both Powerball and Mega Millions have raised ticket prices and lowered the odds of winning the jackpot. According to The Washington Post, Powerball lowered the odds of winning in 2015 from 1 in 175.2 million to where it currently stands, at 1 in 292.2 million.

— additional reporting by Brian Dakss