The jackpot in the US Powerball lottery reached an estimated level of 1.6 billion dollars (over 1.6 billion euros transferred) on Friday, US media reported. The first prize in the American lottery has never been higher.
The next drawing will be held on Saturday evening. It’s the 40th Powerball Championship draw since the first prize went down on August 3. If the jackpot doesn’t fall again on Saturday, the record for the number of draws without a consecutive big winner will be matched, Powerball says. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million.
Because of the jackpot, many Americans buy a lottery ticket. American media wrote that some gamblers are driving to another state to buy a ticket there. In five US states (Utah, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska and Alabama) such a ticket cannot be obtained. These states have several reasons, including concerns about the cost of the lottery for low-income families.
The grand prize gave a lot of tension
So far, the largest lottery win in the United States has been $1.58 billion. This award was given by Powerball in 2016, but then three winners had to share the main prize. Grand Prix co-hosts Maureen Smith, 76, and David Calchmidt, 61, of Florida later told the media that they kept it a secret for a month that they won such a huge sum. “It was also very stressful.”
“I slept quite a bit in those weeks and lost 5 pounds,” Maureen said. Florida law requires that their names be known. The couple bought a new car from the jackpot and “wanted to take care of our family”. “They set up a foundation to manage their wealth.
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