Ticket tocking: Saturday's Powerball jackpot is $1.5 billion

EVERETT — If you've never bought a lottery ticket, now might be the time to part with $2.

Saturday's Powerball jackpot is one of the highest in lottery history.

The pot went to $1.5 billion on Wednesday after 39 consecutive drawings with no grand winner.

Based on the buying frenzy of such a pot of dreams, it stands a good chance of growing by Saturday.

The record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot was in 2016, shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.537 billion, won by a single player in South Carolina in 2018. In July of this year, a $1.337 billion Mega Millions ticket was sold in Illinois.

The cash value of the $1.5 billion Powerball prize is a not-so-shabby $745.9 million. Or, live more frugally, and take it as an annuity in installments over 30 years.

Odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. Odds of a smaller prize, starting at $4, are 1 in 25.

Spending that $2 on a giant candy bar instead is a sure win.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; [email protected]; Twitter: @reporterbrown.