NEW YORK — Nobody can seem to win the jackpot, but the Powerball lottery has made dozens of new millionaires.
The record $1.3 billion jackpot has been building up since November 7. After 19 drawings, no one has yet to match all five numbers plus the Powerball to claim the grand prize.
But there are smaller prizes to be won. So far, in drawings for the current jackpot, 67 tickets have won millionaire-making prizes: 59 winning tickets for $1 million and eight for $2 million.
And more million-dollar prizes have been awarded as ticket sales have skyrocketed. Of the 67 since November, 28 came in the most recent drawing on Saturday night.
A ticket qualifies for a $1 million prize if it matches the five white balls without the red Powerball. The prize doubles to $2 million if the player purchased a Power Play ticket, which costs $2 instead of $1 but doubles non-jackpot prizes.
For non-Power Play tickets, partial matches can qualify for prizes of $50,000, $100, $7 or $4.
So while the odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 292 million, the chances of winning any prize at all are 1 in 24.87.
That’s thanks to an October rule change by Powerball that made it easier to win a second-tier prize, but more difficult to take home a humongous jackpot.
With all those lesser prizes added to the mix, buyers of 39 million tickets have won $349 million in prize money since November.
Smaller prizes are awarded in lump sums. Grand prize winners can take single payouts but, to get the full value of the prize, must take payments over 30 years. All winnings over $600 are subject to income taxes.
