Powerball jackpot reaches $700M — 5th largest ever — ahead of Wednesday drawing

What are the odds you win the lottery?

What are the odds you win the lottery? You're more likely to be struck by lightning.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Powerball jackpot soared to an estimated $700 million for Wednesday night’s drawing — the seventh-largest grand prize in the game’s history — after no ticket matched all six numbers on Monday.

The winner, who must match numbers on five white balls (1-69) and the red Powerball (1-26), also has the option to claim a one-time lump sum payment of an estimated $326.1 million before taxes.

The next drawing will be held at 10:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Last night’s Powerball winning numbers

The winning numbers for last night’s drawing on Monday, Oct. 24 were 18, 23, 35, 45, 54, and red Powerball 16. The Power Play was 4X.

More than 1.2 million tickets won cash prizes totaling $13.7 million in Monday’s drawing, including one ticket in Texas that matched all five white balls to win $1 million, lottery officials said.

Other notable wins included 32 tickets that won $50,000 and 10 tickets that won $200,000.

FILE - The powerball logo displayed on a phone screen and coins are seen in this illustration photo taken on June 14, 2022. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

How to play the Powerball Jackpot

The Powerball jackpot grows until a winning ticket is sold. Winners can choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 payments over 29 years, or take the lump sum payment. Federal and jurisdictional taxes are applicable to either payout.

Powerball drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday in 45 states, Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The drawings are broadcast live from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, and also live-streamed on Powerball.com.

The grand prize was previously won on Aug. 3 in Pennsylvania, resulting in a $206.9 million jackpot. Since then, there have been 35 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner, lottery officials said.

Powerball currently holds the world record for the largest jackpot ever: a whopping $1.586 billion prize in 2016 that was shared by winners in California, Florida, and Tennessee.

Odds of winning the Powerball Jackpot

The overall odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are just 1 in 292.2 million. To put that into perspective, those odds are a little worse than flipping a coin and getting heads 28 straight times, University of Nebraska-Omaha mathematics professor Andrew Swift previously told the Associated Press.

For those feeling lucky and wanting to spend $2 for a ticket, the overall odds of winning any prize is a little better at 1 in 24.9.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.