   Tonight’s Powerball jackpot is $1-billion dollars, the 2nd-largest in Powerball history and 5th-largest for any lottery game in U-S history.Â
The jackpot is paid out in 29 annual payments, so most winners take a lower cash payment which for tonight’s drawing is an estimated $497.3-million dollars.
The Powerball jackpot starts at $20 million and grows each drawing until it is won. There have been 37 consecutive drawings since August 6 without a jackpot winner.
Nebraska Lottery Director Brian Rockey reminds everyone the odds of winning remain the same, 1-in-292-million regardless of how big the pot is, how many tickets you buy, or how many people overall play.
The biggest Powerball jackpot, which is also the nation’s biggest period, was $1.586-billion shared by 3 ticketholders in 2016.
The largest Powerball jackpot won in Nebraska occurred in February 2006 when a group of eight coworkers at the ConAgra Foods ham and corned beef plant in Lincoln split a $365 million jackpot.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the U-S Virgin Islands.