US Powerball jackpot grows to $1.3 billion ahead of Saturday draw

(Reuters) - The eighth largest lottery jackpot in United States history of more than $1.3 billion will be up for grabs when Powerball holds its drawing on Saturday night.

The drawing, set for 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT on Sunday), is the 41st since the last Powerball winner hit the jackpot on New Year's Day. Winner or winners must match the correct six double-digit numbers on a $2 ticket. Chances of that happening are one in 292.2 million.

The prize ranks as the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot and is a little more than half of the largest ever in U.S. lottery jackpot history. That came in November 2022 when a single ticket holder in California won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

Last week, a single ticket matched all six numbers in the Mega Millions drawing, winning a hefty $1.13 billion, the fifth-largest prize in that game's history. That ticket was sold in New Jersey.

Should the lucky winner choose to accept it in a single lump sum, the prize in Saturday's drawing carries a cash value of about $608.9 million. The other option is an initial payment followed by 29 annual payments.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Puerto Rico.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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