Since no one has guessed the six correct numbers in the previous 39 draws, the jackpot has only swelled, and could grow even further.
If no one wins the $1.6 billion at stake on Saturday, the record for the number of consecutive Powerball draws without a jackpot won will be equaled, the company said in a statement.
The amount already exceeds that of the biggest win ever. In 2016, several lucky ones had won a record loot of 1.586 billion dollars, then dubbed the jackpot of the century.
The mouth-watering jackpot is of course a dream come true for Americans, but residents of the five states where the lottery is not allowed, including Hawaii and Alaska, can only watch it from afar – or agree to get behind the wheel.
The odds of winning that amount are only one in 292.2 million anyway. For comparison, the probability of being struck by lightning is one in a million, according to data from US health authorities.
The jackpot represents what the lucky winner would get if they agreed to spread the payment over 30 installments, over 29 years.
If he chooses to receive his prize all at once, the winner will still have plenty to see coming: $782.4 million would then be paid to him.
Whatever he chooses, part of the gain will of course be deducted by taxes.
