HASANI GITTENS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Powerball Lottery is on everyone’s mind as Wednesday’s drawing will be worth $1.3 billion, the largest in the world, said Texas Lottery official Kelly Cripe.
Jermaine Emory Mallory fills out a Powerball number selection slip at a store in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
It’s so big that many lottery signs aren’t able to even display the amount beyond “$999 million.” The odds of any Powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million. A ray of hope: Scott A. Norris, an assistant professor of mathematics at Southern Methodist University, says your tiny odds improve a bit if you let the computer pick your numbers rather than choosing yourself. There are 292.2 million possible combinations of the five white balls and red Powerball. That’s where the odds come from, and they stay the same regardless of how big the jackpot grows or how many people buy tickets.
Once you beat the astronomical odds and win, you’ll get to choose between being paid $1.3 billion through annual payments over 29 years or one $806 million cash payment. Those figures are before federal and state taxes, which will eat up roughly half of the cash-option prize. Your best bet? Take the annuity to avoid the risk of overspending or an investment mishap. Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
A regular ticket costs $2 – about the same as a gallon of gas.
