Powerball jackpot fuels excitement as prize grows to $700 million for Saturday

By Michelle Watson, CNN
(CNN) — Someone could become a millionaire Saturday night — if they play their numbers right.
The Powerball jackpot has soared to an estimated $700 million, making it one of the largest prizes in the game’s history.
There was no winner in Wednesday night’s drawing. The next drawing is set for 10:59 p.m. ET Saturday.
The estimated jackpot for Saturday stands as the biggest Powerball grand prize in over a year, a news release said. The last jackpot was already the largest of 2025, as the game has gone without a winner since someone got lucky on May 31.
Will the 36th drawing tonight finally bring home a winner?
If there’s a winner in Saturday’s drawing, they can choose either the full jackpot paid out over 30 years or a one-time cash option of about $316.3 million. Both are before taxes.
There have been five Powerball jackpots over $1 billion, including the largest lottery jackpot for the game in US history of $2.04 billion. It was won by a single ticket in Altadena, California, on November 7, 2022.
The Powerball lottery says it has generated more than $36 billion for good causes supported by US lotteries over more than three decades.
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