US$747M Powerball jackpot up to 9th-largest as drawing nears

Steve Morton shows his Powerball scan card at a convenience store in Renfrew, Pa., on Nov. 7, 2022. (Keith Srakocic / AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa — A US$747 million Powerball jackpot will be up for grabs Monday night for players willing to risk $2 against the long, long odds of winning the big prize.

No one has won the jackpot since Nov. 19, 2022, allowing the prize to grow larger with each of the game's three weekly drawings. It now stands as the ninth-largest in U.S. history.

The game's abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. That strategy certainly has worked recently, as someone won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize in January and a California player hit a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot last November. No one has claimed either of those prizes.

The $747 million jackpot is for winners who opt for an annuity, paid over 29 years. Higher interest rates have allowed those annuity payments to increased compared with earlier jackpots, when rates were lower.

Most winners prefer cash, which for Monday night's drawing would be $403.1 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.