The winning numbers for the January 18 draw were 20-24-38-56-68, with the Powerball being 18 with a Power Play of 2x.
Nobody took home the top prize last night by matching all numbers and the Powerball, meaning that the jackpot rolls over onto next week’s draw. One lucky person did manage to match all five white balls but not the Powerball, a prize of at least $1 million.
28 people successfully matched four of the five white balls, as well as the Powerball, earning them a $50,000 prize. Four of those winners doubled their take home to $100,000 because they also purchased the additional 2x Power Play.
The next Powerball drawing will be on Thursday January 23, with the estimated jackpot now standing at $343 million, with a cash option of $233.3 million, according to the Power Ball website. The jackpot could increase if sales further lottery projections, according to officials.
The last time someone took home the grand prize was way back on November 2, when one lucky person in California picked a winning ticket of $150 million. The winning numbers for that draw were 03-23-32-37-58, with the Powerball being 22. You can check the numbers for tonight, or any past winning numbers, on the official Powerball website.
How do you play Powerball?
The Powerball is held twice a week, with draws usually taking place on a Wednesday and Saturday night, at 10:59 p.m. ED. Each draw is broadcast live from the lottery studio in Tallahassee, Florida.
The lottery game is available to play in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each ticket costs $2 per play, with payers selecting five numbers from 1 to 69, in addition to one red Powerball number from 1 to 26. In certain circumstances, players can also multiply non-jackpot prizes by using the Power Play option for an additional $1.
Powerball’s official website claims that players have a 1 in 24.9 chance of winning any prize regardless of the number of participants. But the chances of winning the grand prize jackpot are astronomically higher at 1 in 292,201,338, according to the official website. Even if there are more tickets sold in a particular drawing, your odds of winning a prize are the same, the Powerball website states.
Winners can choose to either select their prize as an annuity, or for significantly less, a lump-sum payment. The annuity option sees the winner receive 30 annual payments over the space of 29 years, with each payment increasing by five percent until the 30th and final payment.
