Powerball prize up to $1.5 billion, 3rd-largest ever in US

The bad news is that no one won Wednesday night’s huge $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot.The good news is that means the prize has grown even larger to $1.5 billion ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. That is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.The numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 2, 11, 22, 35, 60 and the red powerball 23.No one has won the top Powerball prize since Aug. 3, making for 39 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all six numbers.What’s behind three months of lottery futility? It’s simple math. The odds of winning the jackpot are an abysmal 1 in 292.2 million. It is because of those long odds that the grand prize has grown so large.The new $1.5 billion prize is actually for winners who opt for an annuity, paid out annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners choose cash, which for Saturday’s drawing would be $745.9 million.Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.