Powerball Jackpot Soars To $430M For Wednesday Drawing: How To Play In The Hudson Valley

The Powerball jackpot has hit $430 million for Wednesday's drawing, the 9th largest jackpot in the game’s history. Could the Hudson Valley have a winner?

After all, while no one hit the jackpot in Saturday's Powerball drawing, someone lucky bought a ticket that was a $1 million winner. New York Lottery officials said the ticket was sold at Estrella Minimarket in Mount Vernon. The winning numbers were 20-24-26-35-49 and Powerball 19. (SIGN UP: get Patch’s daily newsletter, news alerts and updates.)

The Powerball jackpot is won by matching all five white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. The odds of picking the correct Powerball grand prize numbers are one in 292,201,338.

Here's how to play:

• The jackpot is either an annuitized prize paid out over 29 years (30 payments counting the first immediate payment) or a cash lump sum payment.
• If you choose the cash, then you get the cash, pay the tax, and can invest what is left over. If you choose the annuity, then we can invest the cash amount pre-tax, less an immediate first payment (more to invest means more earnings).
• With the annuity, you get an annual payment that is increased by 5 percent each year to keep up with the cost of living.
• The second prize - won by matching five white balls in any order - is $1 million paid in cash (no annuity option). You win by matching at least three white ball numbers. Any time you match the red Powerball, you win a prize.
• Power Play is a special add-on feature that allows a winner to increase the original prize amounts (except the jackpot).
• Each ticket costs $2.
• The Power Play option costs $1 extra and must be selected when you buy your Powerball ticket. Powerball players with the Power Play option winning any prize other than the jackpot will win a larger cash prize.
• The Match 5+0 prize with Power Play option grows to $2 million paid in a cash lump sum (no annuity option is offered). All other lower prizes (below Match 5) will be multiplied by a number that we draw (2X, 3X, 4X, or 5X).

Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time. The record in the game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was won by a group of Tennessee workers.

The lottery game is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball draws can be seen on hundreds of TV stations nationwide, including locally on ABC7. It may also be available on cable or your mobile device. The draws are also posted on YouTube and on the Powerball website.

Patch file photo

SEE: Winning Ticket Worth $1 Million Sold In The Hudson Valley