Winning Numbers for $1.5 Billion Powerball Jackpot: Jan. 13, 2016

The winning Powerball numbers are 08-27-34-04-19. The Powerball is 10. Now the big question is who, if anyone won the staggeringly huge $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot? This is the largest, single-prize lottery jackpot in world history.

At $1.5 billion, the lottery prize for Wednesday is so big that billboards around the country could not advertise the actual figure because they didn’t have enough room — the billboards were stuck at $999,999,999. The jackpot started at $40 million on Nov. 4.

As staggering as the jackpot is, the odds of being the one to take home the jackpot, of course, are slim: 1 in 292,201,338. Your chances of being struck by lightning in any given year are 1 in 700,000. Your odds of being wounded or killed by a firearm are 1 in 325.

• Rochester, MI, Couple Won $1 Million Powerball Prize: Just in the nick of time, Linda Grayson reminded her husband, Jeffrey, they needed to buy a Powerball ticket.

In fact, you have a much better chance of dating a supermodel. And dying on a bicycle.

Your odds of dying on a bicycle, actually, are 1 in 4,472 (but those odds improve dramatically if you stay off bicycles). Your odds of drowning in the bathtub are 1 in 9,377. Your odds of dating a supermodel? 1 in 88,000. Odds of being bitten by a shark? 1 in 6,000,000.

About 75 percent of the possible number combinations were covered for Saturday’s drawing. With the growing interest, more possible number combinations will likely be covered for Wednesday’s drawing. Officials expect that enough tickets will be sold to cover about 97 percent by Wednesday.

About 95 percent of Powerball tickets have computer-generated numbers.

QUICK POWERBALL FACTS

• Current jackpot at $1.5 billion; cash value of $930 million
• Jackpots start at $40 million
• Plays cost $2 each
• Overall odds of winning the jackpot 1:292,201,338

ALSO ON PATCH

• Playing Powerball with Co-Workers, Friends: What To Know

CNN explains the tax implications of winning the big prize:

Lottery winnings are taxed like income, and the IRS taxes the top income bracket 39.6%. The government will withhold 25% of that before the money ever gets to the winner. The rest has to be paid at tax time.

Then there are local taxes. Of the 44 U.S. states that participate in Powerball, all but a handful will take an additional cut of the money, according to lottery statistics site USA Mega.

Share in the Comments: Do you play special numbers or computer-generated picks?