$1.5B Powerball Jackpot For Saturday: What To Know In NJ

NEW JERSEY — Three New Jersey Lottery tickets generated at least $1 million from Wednesday's Powerball drawing. But that's pocket change compared to the jackpot, which rolled to $1.5 billion.

The Powerball jackpot becomes the third-largest in U.S. lottery history, with the next drawing set for Saturday. New Jerseyans must purchase tickets before 9:59 p.m. that evening to qualify.

In Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, the winning numbers were 02, 11, 22, 35 and 60, with a Powerball of 23. Three New Jersey tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million, with one also purchased with the Power Play multiplier to double the prize.

Sixteen New Jersey tickets matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball to earn $50,000 each. One of those tickets was purchased with Power Play to double the winnings. (See below where each winning ticket was sold.)

Additionally, 344,335 New Jersey players will receive an estimated $1,722,098 in prizes ranging from $4 to $200, according to state lottery officials.

Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. ET on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or they may take a cash payout, which is estimated at $745.9 million for the next game. Nearly all winners choose cash.

The estimated $1.5 billion jackpot is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, and the second-largest in the history of the Powerball game. The national record is $1.586 billion — the Powerball jackpot on Jan. 13, 2016, with three winning tickets from California, Florida and Tennessee.

Saturday's jackpot nearly triples the largest lottery prize in New Jersey history, when a participant's ticket won a $533 million jackpot in 2018, according to lotto.com.

The jackpot has gone unclaimed since Aug. 3. And the longer it goes without a winner, the closer it comes to the national record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in 2016.

The odds of winning are abysmal, about 1 in 292.2 million. Odds of winning any prize are better, 1 in 24.9.

A Powerball ticket costs $2. For an additional $1 per ticket, players can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times with the Power Play feature. One caveat: The 10X multiplier is only available when the advertised jackpot annuity is $150 million or less.

To win the jackpot, a player must match all white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. Lottery officials say chances are higher when players don’t choose their own numbers. About 75 percent of winning tickets over the years were picked by a computer.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Powerball, more than half of all ticket sales remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

Winning Tickets In New Jersey

Powerball tickets sold at the following New Jersey locations took home significant prizes from Wednesday's drawing:

$2 million

• Monmouth County: Raceway Matawan, 3961 Route 516 and Higgins Rd., Monmouth

$1 million

• Middlesex County: Wawa, 580 US Highway 1, Edison
• Bergen County: The Market at Saddle Brook, 487 Fairlawn Pkwy., Saddle Brook

$100,000

• Passaic County: Jackpocket, 355 Warwick Tpke., Hewitt

$50,000

• Burlington County: Quick Shop Food Market, 601 Beverly Rancocas Rd., Willingboro
• Camden County: Acme, 700 Haddonfield Berlin Rd., Voorhees
• Camden County: Acme, 700 Haddonfield Berlin Rd., Voorhees
• Essex County: Cedar Grove Liquors, 597 Pompton Ave., Cedar Grove
• Gloucester County: Wawa, 1700 Center Square Rd., Logan Township
• Hudson County: Krauszer's Food Store, 787 Kearny Ave., Kearny
• Hudson County: Jersey Deli Store 11 LLC, 7217 Bergenline Ave., North Bergen
• Hunterdon County: Shell Food Mart, 601 Route 12, Flemington
• Mercer County: Speedy Mart, 59 State Rd., Princeton
• Monmouth County: Stop & Shop, 4861 Route 9, Howell
• Monmouth County: Wegmans Manalapan, 55 Route 9 South, Manalapan
• Monmouth County: Wawa, 2432 Highway #35, Manasquan
• Monmouth County: Country Farms, 420 State Route 34, Colts Neck
• Morris County: 7-Eleven, 99 Ridgedale Ave., Cedar Knolls
• Ocean County: Wine Emporium, 1205 Richmond Ave., Point Pleasant Beach