Powerball Jackpot Grows to $1.5 Billion

The ever growing Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing is now at a whopping $1.5 billion with a cash payout of $930 million.

The drawing for Wednesday Jan. 13 will be held at 10:59 p.m. Tickets are available at more than 2,800 retailers in Connecticut. CT Lottery officials encourages players to know their limits and play within them.

Click here to find a retailer in Connecticut.

While no one matched the winning numbers for the drawing held Saturday Jan. 9, two winning tickets worth $1 million and $2 million were sold in the state. The winners have not yet been announced but a CT Lottery spokeswoman told Patch the $2 million ticket was sold in Hartford County and the $1 million ticket was sold in Fairfield County.

SEE ALSO:

• Check Your Powerball Tickets: $1 Million and $2 Million Winners in Connecticut
• $1.3 Billion Powerball: What It Adds Up To In Connecticut
• Playing The Powerball With Co-Workers, Friends: What To Know
• Connecticut Man Wins $1 Million Powerball Prize

The largest lottery payout to date in Connecticut was $254 million.

Three men from Greenwich claimed the jackpot in November 2011, which was the largest prize in Connecticut Lottery history and the 12th biggest prize nationwide in Powerball history, according to Time Magazine.

The odds of winning the big prize are 1 in 292,201,338, according to MarketWatch. The service points out that the chances of being struck by lightning in any given year are 1 in 700,000. In October 2015, the odds of winning the Powerball changed to 1 in 292.2 million when lottery officials changed the rules of the game. Compare that with the previous probability of 1 in 175.22 million. Rather than choosing five out of 59 numbers for the white balls, players now choose five out of 69 numbers for the white balls. For the Powerball, players now choose one out of 26 numbers rather than one out of 35 numbers.

However, the overall chance of winning a prize improved from 1 in 31.85 to 1 in 24.87.

According to the official Powerball website, the jackpot is won by matching all five white balls, in any order, and the red Powerball. But if you miss that coveted Powerball, you can still win a cool million dollars.

Click here to see how you can win a Powerball Prize

If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball for Wednesday’s drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow. The payout is based on sales and ticket sales have continued to increase as the pot has grown.

Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to this jackpot, the largest Powerball jackpot $590.5 million, won in Florida in May 2013.

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So what should you do if you win the lottery?

Alexa von Tobel, CEO of the online financial planning website LearnVest, offered a few tips to Patch from a financial planning standpoint.

Sign the ticket: The most important step ensures you claim the ticket as your own.

Maintain anonymity: In many states, von Tobel says, you have a whole year to claim the prize.

“If you let your name be released to the public record, a swarm of people will almost immediately descend on you, legitimate and not, trying to make a grab for your business,” she said.

“Some past lottery winners have even felt the need for police escorts, have received threats and have been tempted to run away or leave their hometowns because of the sheer number of people who “want a piece of them.”

Assemble a financial planning team: “You must decide whether including whether to take a lump sum or an annuity,” she said. “There are many pros and cons to weigh: including estate taxes, how much money you’ll ultimately make, whether you’ll be able to handle it all at once, etc.”

Wait six months before making any major decisions: “It’s all too easy to blow through those millions,” von Tobel said. “In fact, according to a 2015 study by the Camelot Group, 44 percent of winners spend their entire winnings within five years.”