The drawing for the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history is set to take place tonight.
The Powerball jackpot has reached $1.73 billion, or a lump sum of around $750 million. That’s second only to the $2.04 billion jackpot won by a single ticket-buyer in Southern California last fall.
“The upcoming drawing on Wednesday will be the 36th drawing in the jackpot run, and the first time in Powerball history that back-to-back jackpot cycles have generated billion-dollar grand prizes,” the Multi-State Lottery Association said. “The Powerball jackpot was previously won on July 19, when a ticket in California won a jackpot worth $1.08 billion.”
Given the infinitesimally small odds of actually winning a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot, many rational people avoid spending their money on it. But, sometimes, the dream of a giant jackpot beats out rationality and the lure becomes too strong.
This morning we’re asking: what’s the prize threshold beyond which you decide that you have to play one of these lotteries?
