$1.4 billion Powerball prize is a combination of interest rates, sales, math — and luck

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The upcoming $1.4 billion Powerball jackpot is the world’s fifth-largest lottery prize due to higher interest rates, long odds, fewer ticket sales per drawing, and luck. A combination of all those factors means the jackpot could eventually top the record lottery prize of over $2 billion won last November. Someone last won the Powerball jackpot on July 19. Since then it has grown three times a week. The winless streak shouldn’t be a surprise because it shows the game is operating as it was designed. The immense jackpot odds are intended to make winning rare so the grand prizes can grow so large.