Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the latest near-record Powerball jackpot of $1.6 billion.
TheLotter Colorado, the state’s new online lottery service, has seen sales traffic soar recently. The reason? The Powerball jackpot, which is currently a whopping $1.6 billion for the Saturday, Nov. 6, drawing.
According to Peggy Daniel, theLotter’s managing director, the online service’s goal is to make the Colorado Lottery “convenient and safe.” According to the news release, the process goes:
- Purchaser places an order on theLotter site
- Courier buys a ticket on behalf of the purchaser
- TheLotter uploads a scan of the paper ticket
- The site notifies the purchaser if it turns out to be a winning ticket
Wins of up to $600 go directly into the client’s account. And bigger wins — like maybe a $1.6 billion jackpot? — can be redeemed in person at the Colorado Lottery’s offices.
Potential big win for Colorado Lottery players
The estimated $1.6 billion jackpot could end up even bigger, depending on how many Powerball tickets sell. Daniel said:
“It would be fantastic if this time someone in Colorado walks away with a substantial sum after having used our online ticket purchasing service.”
If someone wins the prize on Saturday, they will be the biggest winner in lottery history.
In 2016, three Powerball winners shared the prize of $1.586 billion. The three ecstatic screams that night originated from Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan. Then someone in South Carolina added $1.537 billion to their assets with the Mega Millions draw in October 2018.
What to do if you win the Powerball
Powerball big winners can choose to take their prize in one of two ways. Either as a lump sum or an annuity that pays over 30 years. The cash value of the prize is $782.4 million, according to Powerball.
Some Powerball winners this year have won amounts varying from $1 million to $2 million. Eleven such winners got lucky on Monday. And overall, more than 5.4 million Powerball ticketholders won cash prizes at the top of the week.
Powerball tickets cost $2 each. Drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
Banner year for Colorado Lottery
This has been a big year for the Colorado Lottery. The Colorado Lottery had record sales in 2022, taking in nearly $826.9 million. Aside from a dip in 2020, this is the sixth consecutive year revenue has risen.
