Powerball jackpot surges to $1.55 billion as no winner emerges
Powerball jackpot will continue to grow as Saturday's drawing failed to produce any winning tickets, according to the game's website.
The jackpot, initially at $1.4 billion, has now increased to $1.55 billion, although it still ranks as the third-largest in Powerball's history. The second-largest jackpot reached $1.586 billion in 2016.
The most recent Powerball jackpot was won after the July 19 drawing when a $1.08 billion prize was claimed by a lucky ticket holder in California.
Lottery games have been consistently offering jackpots of around $1 billion or more two or three times a year.
However, when there is a winner, this will be the first instance of consecutive billion-dollar-plus jackpots.
Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross, explained that the pattern of growing jackpots and fewer winners is intentional. Organizers have made several changes, such as increasing the number of balls in drawings, raising ticket prices from $1 to $2, and directing more of the ticket sales revenue into the main jackpot to create the excitement of billion-dollar lotteries.
Matheson pointed out that both Powerball and Mega Millions have evolved from regional lotteries to national phenomena, expanding their reach across the entire country.
This broader participation increases the difficulty of winning and contributes to the rollovers.
«Powerball and Mega Millions have gone from regional lotteries to full nationwide lotteries,» Matheson stated. «And when you have 300 million potential buyers across the country, what that means is that you can have a really, really, really hard to win lottery.»
Drew Svitko, the Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director, acknowledged the trend of substantial
