The latest drawing of the Powerball numbers took place on Wednesday, but did anyone take home the $363 million jackpot?
The winning numbers on December 30, 2020, were 3, 43, 45, 61 and 65, while the Powerball was 14 and the Power Play was 2x.
There were no grand prize winners or winners for Match 5, with or without the Power Play option, according to the Powerball website.
Twelve winners matched four white balls and the Powerball, which earned them each $50,000. Two of these 12 winners purchased the Power Play option, which won them each a prize of $100,000.
A total of 565 ticket holders matched four white balls and 134 of them purchased the Power Play option, which earned them each $200.
There were 1,459 players who matched three white balls and the Powerball, each winning $100, while 302 of these winners opted for Power Play, which earned them each $200.
The next drawing will be on January 3, with an estimated jackpot prize of $384 million and cash value of $295.4 million.
The Powerball jackpot was last won on September 16, when a ticket purchased in Ballston Spa, New York, returned a $94.6 million prize.
Prior to that, the jackpot was won on August 12, when one lucky player in Florida matched all five white balls and the Powerball to pocket a massive $169 million payout.
How to play Powerball
Powerball tickets, which cost $2 per play, are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Ticket holders each select five numbers from one to 69 for the five white balls and a number from one to 26 for the Powerball.
Players can multiply non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four, five or 10 times by purchasing the Power Play option for an additional $1 per play.
Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
The prizes
"There are nine ways to win a prize in Powerball. All prizes are set cash amounts, except the Grand Prize. In California, prize payout amounts are pari-mutuel and determined by sales and the number of winners," the Powerball website explains.
The Powerball jackpot prize value continues to grow until it is won. "The Match 5 + Power Play prize value is always $2 million, while the 10X multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less," according to the website.
Jackpot winners can receive their prize as either an annuity or a lump-sum payment. For those who choose the annuity option, the winner is guaranteed to receive 30 graduated payments over 29 years. The annual payments increase by five percent until the 30th and final payment, the website notes.
What are the odds of winning?
The overall odds of winning a prize are one in 24.9, while the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million, according to the Powerball website.
The odds of winning a prize are the same in every Powerball drawing. "Even if there are more tickets sold in a particular drawing, your odds of winning a prize are the same," the Powerball website states.
Uncommon Knowledge
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