Why no Powerball winner? Luck and smaller sales
DES MOINES, IOWA>> Perplexed that it seems no one can win the gigantic $1.5 billion Powerball prize?
A big reason is that people aren’t buying as many tickets for each drawing as they did five or six years ago. When fewer people buy tickets, a smaller percentage of the millions of possible number combinations are covered and the likelihood of a winner drops. The next drawing will be Saturday.
Of course, many people still are playing Powerball and Mega Millions, the other lottery game offered in most of the country. It was ticket sales from those Powerball players that fund the prizes and enabled the jackpot to soar by $300 million after there wasn’t a big winner Wednesday night.
In the most recent drawing for a $1.2 billion jackpot, 46.6% of the 292.2 million possible number combinations were covered. That was up from the 36.3% of all possible number combinations that were picked for Monday’s drawing, reflecting that ticket sales rise as jackpots climb higher.
But the percentage remains far less than when a record $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot was on the line on Jan. 13, 2016. Back then, ticket sales were so strong that 88.6% of the possible combinations were covered, according to the Urbandale, Iowabased Multi-state Lottery Association. A few days before that record 2016 drawing, there was a coverage of 77.8% for a $900 million Powerball prize.
The association notes, however, that Powerball drawings now are held three times a week, so even if fewer tickets are sold for individual drawings, overall sales can be approximately comparable because of the extra game each week.
Powerball officials note that 19 tickets matched the five white balls and missed the Powerball — earning the players $1 million, or $2 million if they paid extra for a prize multiplier.
And 238 tickets matched four white balls as well as the Powerball.
There have been 39 consecutive drawings without a Powerball winner, dating to Aug. 6, and if that winless streak hits 40 drawings after Saturday night, the jackpot will certainly grow to be the largest ever in the U.S. and globally.