[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The first prize winner of the US 'Powerball' lottery has not appeared since early August, causing the prize amount to continuously break records for the highest ever.
According to the AP News and others on the 6th (local time), the Powerball operator announced that since no first prize winner emerged in the drawing last night, the first prize amount has increased to $1.9 billion (approximately 2.6809 trillion KRW), surpassing the previous record of $1.6 billion, the highest in lottery history.
Powerball will hold another drawing on the night of the 7th. Powerball holds three drawings a week, and if no first prize winner appears, the prize money rolls over. Since August 3rd until the day before, no first prize winner has appeared for 40 consecutive draws, resulting in the current cumulative prize amount setting an all-time high.
The $1.9 billion is the amount paid out in installments over 29 years as an annuity. Typically, first prize winners prefer a lump-sum cash payment, which amounts to $929 million.
The odds of winning the first prize are about 1 in 292.2 million, according to AP News. To win, one must match all six numbers: five white balls and one red Powerball number. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 US states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
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