January 12, 2016

POWERBALL® Jackpot Grows to World-Record Status; Wednesday Drawing Reaches $1.5 Billion

The Delaware Lottery Encourages the Community to Play Responsibly

(DOVER, DE) — This Wednesday, January 13, POWERBALL® players will have their second opportunity to win the largest jackpot of any Lottery game in U.S. history, and their first chance to win a new world-record jackpot for any Lottery jackpot game that can be won with a single ticket, according to Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) officials. After reaching a U.S. record high for the January 9 drawing, the POWERBALL® estimated annuity continues to grow, with the estimated annuity jackpot for this Wednesday’s drawing at $1.5 billion. If the jackpot is won this Wednesday, the winner could opt for a cash option payout of $930 million.

With such an extraordinary payout potential, the Delaware Lottery joins lotteries across the country in encouraging people to play responsibly.

“This is brand-new territory for all of us, which makes it extremely important that everyone is careful not only to play responsibly themselves, but also to encourage those around them to do the same,” said Vernon Kirk, Director, Delaware Lottery. “It’s human nature to hear ‘world-record jackpot’ and get swept up in desire be the person to win the dream. The greater this momentum grows, the more everyone needs to take care to play responsibly, to not play beyond their means . . . to play only what they can absolutely afford.”

Delaware Lottery officials suggest playing in pools with friends, family or coworkers as another means to playing responsibly. They also remind everyone that the overall odds of winning a POWERBALL® jackpot prize are 1 in 292 million and the odds of winning any POWERBALL® prize are 1 in 25.

This Wednesday’s drawing will be the 20th since the most recent grand prize POWERBALL® winner, which occurred on November 4, 2015. The highest POWERBALL® grand prize awarded to date was $590.5 million, won on May 18, 2013.

The winning numbers from the last drawing, Saturday, January 9, were 16, 19, 32, 34 and 57. The POWERBALL® number was 13 and the Power Play® number was 3. Although the jackpot remains, as a result of Saturday’s drawing:

• More than 18 million players won more than $159.1 million in cash prizes (in the past year on a national level, POWERBALL® has produced 316 second-tier winners of $1 million or $2 million).
• 73,968 Delaware winners with prizes worth $476,358.
• Two Delaware $50,000 winning tickets.
• Approximately $372 million was generated for the various beneficiaries supported by Lottery revenue.

“It’s an exciting time in terms of what this jackpot is generating for state services, as well as the awareness that comes from pretty much everyone across the country paying attention,” said Kirk. “Last week, we saw the jackpot increase by approximately $100,000 million in 24 hours due to increase ticket sales. Still, the key to maximizing the benefit is that everyone plays responsibly and in the spirit of the lottery—that is, for entertainment and to support vital services.”

Wednesday’s POWERBALL® drawing will be broadcast live from Tallahassee, Florida at 10:59 PM Eastern Time. Tickets sell for $2 per game; the Power Play® option POWERBALL® costs $3 per game.

About the Delaware Lottery

Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $4.5 billion to the state’s General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, MEGA MILLIONS®, HOT LOTTO®, MULTI-WIN LOTTO, LUCKY FOR LIFE™, PLAY 3, PLAY 4, Keno, iGaming and assorted Instant Games, Video Lottery, Sports Lottery, and Table Games. Delaware Lottery game and promotional details are available at www.delottery.com, at licensed locations and from the Lottery’s office in Dover.

About POWERBALL®

POWERBALL® drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:59 p.m. Central Time, 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time and 7:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information about POWERBALL® please visit www.powerball.com.

The 47 U.S. lotteries where POWERBALL® is available are: Arizona Lottery, Arkansas Lottery, California Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery & CGCB, Delaware State Lottery, Florida Lottery, Georgia Lottery Corporation, Hoosier Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Loteria Electronica de Puerto Rico, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Maine Lottery, Maryland Lottery, Massachusetts Lottery, Michigan Lottery, Minnesota State Lottery, Missouri Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Jersey Lottery, New Mexico Lottery Authority, New York Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Ohio Lottery, Oklahoma Lottery, Oregon Lottery, Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Carolina Education Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery, Texas Lottery, U.S. Virgin Islands Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Virginia Lottery, Washington Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery, Wyoming Lottery, and the West Virginia Lottery. POWERBALL® is owned by the Multi-State Lottery Association, which is a government-benefit, nonprofit association owned and operated by 37 member lotteries.

POWERBALL® and Power Play® are registered trademarks of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

Winner privacy is our policy.
The Delaware Lottery publishes winner names only with their consent.

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