Posting date: 14 July 2023, 9:08h

Last updated: July 14, 2023 at 09:19h
The Powerball and Mega Millions Jackpots will change the lives of at least two lucky winners. The estimated Powerball jackpot on Saturday, July 15 is $875 million. (Image:

The Today Show

Powerball and Mega Millions pay out their annuity jackpots through bonds insured by the US Treasury. These bonds have interest rates based on federal interest rates. And that’s why as interest rates have increased over the past year, annuitized lottery jackpots have escalated quicker than they otherwise would.

Saturday night’s Powerball jackpot is not only the third-largest Powerball annuitized jackpot, but also one of the 10 largest lottery prizes ever offered in US history. The jackpot is already ranked seventh in US history at $875 million. The odds of winning any prize are one in 24.9. The overall odds of winning some sort of prize are one in 24.9.

During Wednesday’s drawing, while no one won the jackpot, more than 1.8 million tickets won lower-tier prizes worth a combined $16.5 million.

The July 12 drawing included two tickets, sold in Florida and Indiana, that matched all five white numbers but not the red Powerball to claim the game’s second-best prize of $1 million.

Another 36 tickets matched four of the five white balls and the red Powerball for $50,000 prizes. Of those winners, 26 of the tickets purchased the $1 add-on Power Play option that tripled their prize to $150K after the Power Play landed on 3x.

Powerball isn’t the only lottery game growing its jackpot. Mega Millions’ prize has also been climbing, and now stands at $560 million. Mega Millions officials claim that this is only the seventh occasion in the 21-year history of the game when the jackpot has exceeded $550 million.