Powerball jackpot grows to $1.7 billion as Riverside and Bakersfield players win nearly $1M each

There were no tickets sold with all six numbers in the latest drawing of the multi-state Powerball lottery, pushing the estimated jackpot for Saturday’s drawing to $1.7 billion, the third-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

There hasn’t been a drawing with a grand prize winner since May 31, 41 drawings ago, when a ticket worth $207 million was sold at a convenience store in Arleta.

The only larger Powerball jackpots in U.S. history were the $2.04 billion jackpot for the Nov. 7, 2022, drawing and the $1.765 billion jackpot for the Oct. 11, 2023, drawing.

The numbers drawn Wednesday were 3, 16, 29, 61, 69, and the Powerball number was 22. The estimated jackpot was $1.4 billion, the sixth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history and fourth-largest in the history of the Powerball game, which began in 1992.

There have been two larger jackpots for the Mega Millions game, which began in 1996 as The Big Game and was given the new name Mega Millions in 2002.

There were 15 tickets sold with five numbers, but missing the Powerball number, including two in California, both at supermarkets, one in Riverside and the other in Bakersfield. They are both worth $984,594, according to the California Lottery.

The California tickets matching five numbers were sold at Stater Bros. market, 7200 Arlington Ave. in Riverside, and at Albertsons, 13045 Highway 58 in Bakersfield.

Powerball tickets matching five numbers, but missing the Powerball number, sold in other states are worth $1 million or $2 million, but payout amounts in California are on a pari-mutuel basis under state law and determined by sales and the number of winners.

The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. The overall chance of winning a prize is 1 in 24.9.

The Powerball game is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.