CNN –
Powerball players now have a chance to win an estimated $725 million jackpot this weekend after Wednesday night’s drawing failed to produce a big winner.
Wednesday’s numbers were 16, 27, 59, 62 and 63 with a Powerball of 23.
The $725 million jackpot for Saturday’s drawing would be the third-largest Powerball prize this year, behind a $754.6 million jackpot in Washington state in February and the whopping jackpot in Amount of $1.08 billion in California in July. Saturday’s jackpot would also be the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history, the lottery said Wednesday.
If there is a grand prize winner in Saturday’s drawing, that person could choose to win the entire jackpot in staggered payouts over 29 years or a lump sum of an estimated $345.7 million, the lottery said.
Although no one won the top prize Wednesday night, more than a million tickets won some kind of prize – most of which cost $21 or less.
Two tickets sold in Georgia and Texas cost $2 million each because they matched the first five numbers and activated a “Power Play” multiplier. Another ticket sold in Georgia won $1 million for matching the first five numbers without the multiplier.
There have been 27 Powerball drawings since the $1.08 billion jackpot was won in July. This July drawing was only the third Powerball jackpot prize to reach or exceed $1 billion.