DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) 鈥� Strong sales boosted a Powerball jackpot to an estimated $1.6 billion on Friday, making it the largest lottery prize in history.
, which hasn鈥檛 been won in more than three months. That string of 39 consecutive drawings without a winner is a reflection of the , at 1 in 292.2 million.
The advertised jackpot is the prize for a winner who chooses an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Almost all winners instead opt for the cash prize, which for Saturday night鈥檚 drawing would be an estimated $782.4 million.
The new jackpot tops the won in 2016 by three Powerball players in California, Florida and Tennessee.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Associated Press
