$400 million up for grabs on lottery’s 30th anniversary

The Powerball jackpot for the Saturday, April 23, drawing has climbed to $400 million as the 45-state lottery celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Powerball ticket sales began on April 19, 1992, with the first drawing held three days later on April 22.

The last time someone hit the Powerball jackpot was Feb. 14, when a single ticket won $185.3 million in Connecticut, Powerball officials said in a release. In January, two tickets sold in California and Wisconsin split a $632.6 million jackpot, the seventh largest in the game’s history.

The largest jackpot ever won was in 2016, when winners in California, Florida and Tennessee split a record $1.59 billion.

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There are only five states in America where you can’t play Powerball. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah don’t have state lotteries; gambling is outlawed in Hawaii and Utah. Powerball is also played in Washington, D.C, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to Powerball, the odds of winning a Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9, but if you’re hoping for the jackpot, your odds of winning are not great: 1 in 292.2 million.  Those odds are a little worse than flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times, according to the Associated Press. You’re far more likely to be struck by lightning or a meteor.

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Powerball drawings are held three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are $2 per play, and you have to match numbers on five white balls and the red Powerball to win the jackpot. Winners can choose between annual payments or one lump sum.