Cool $1 billion Powerball jackpot up for grabs

(Reuters) - Lottery players across the United States will be scurrying to purchase their Powerball tickets on Wednesday with hopes of striking it rich by winning the whopping $1.09 billion jackpot, the fourth largest in the game's history.

The drawing, set for 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT on Wednesday), is the 40th since the last Powerball winner hit the jackpot on New Year's Day.

Winner or winners must match the correct six double-digit numbers on a $2 ticket. Chances of that happening are one in 292.2 million.

The prize ranks as the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot but remains about half of the largest ever in U.S. lottery jackpot history. That came in November 2022 when a single ticket holder in California won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also played in Puerto Rico.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)