Powerball Lottery Players in Texas and Missouri to Split Nearly $1.8 Billion Jackpot

A person buys a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a store on July 29, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. – The jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions is now $1.1 billion, the second-largest jackpot in game history. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Powerball players in Missouri and Texas have won the nearly $1.8 billion jackpot, overcoming astronomical odds to end the lottery game’s three-month drought without a big winner. The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, and 62, with the Powerball number being 17. The prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot in history, followed 41 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers. The last drawing with a jackpot winner happened May 31. Powerball’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins.