On June 10, a player from Wisconsin, United States, won $22 million, approximately R365 million. The winner has not yet claimed their winnings. The numbers drawn were 10, 33, 41, 52, 54 and 18.
On June 3, the fourth US PowerBall jackpot this year was won. A lucky punter from West Virginia won $136 million, approximately R2,2 billion. The numbers were 1, 3, 26, 41, 64 and 17.
On April 8, a player from New Jersey matched the numbers 2, 37, 39, 48, 54 and 5 and won $190 million, approximately R3,1 billion.
On February 12, a 40-year-old woman from Michigan could barely drive home from work after she found out she had won the jackpot. She matched all five numbers, 14, 47, 54, 55, 68 and the PowerBall number 25, and won $70 million, approximately R1,1 billion.
The largest amount won so far this year was on January 29, when a player from Florida walked away with a whopping $396 million, approximately R6,5 billion. The lucky ticket matched all six numbers drawn, 9, 12, 15, 31, 60 and 2.
How are US PowerBall jackpots calculated?
The estimated winning amount is based on funds in the prize money pool, accumulated from previous drawings, expected sales for the next draw date, and the market interest rates.
The US PowerBall winning amount used to start at a guaranteed amount of $40 million, approximately R658 million, and it increased with a minimum of $10 million, approximately R164 million, if there was no winner on the draw date. In April, the US PowerBall administrators announced that the guaranteed amount would decrease. Currently, the prize money starts at $20 million, approximately R329 million, and after each rollover, a minimum of $2 million, approximately R32 million, is added to the prize money.
High jackpots, high odds: US and SA PowerBall compared
Here is a comparison between the US and SA PowerBall, their odds of winning, draw days and winning jackpots. In both games, the winner has to match five numbers and the PowerBall number. The biggest jackpot won with the US PowerBall was in January 2016, when the amount of $1,586 billion, approximately R26 billion was won. The biggest SA PowerBall jackpot was R232 million and was won in February 2019.
Both games comprise of two draw days. The chances of winning the SA PowerBall are much higher than winning the US PowerBall, as there are fewer combinations of numbers from a selection of 70 numbers. The prize money is much higher for the US PowerBall, because it restarts with a minimum amount of approximately R329 million after the previous one has been won. In South Africa, the winning amount is calculated on the expected ticket sales and does not start with a minimum amount.
When comparing the latest winning amounts of both games, the US PowerBall jackpot was only two times bigger than the SA PowerBall’s.
The next US PowerBall jackpot is $117 million, approximately R1,9 billion. This amount is 190 times bigger than the next estimated SA PowerBall jackpot amount of R10 million.
