Channel 11 looks into trend of high jackpots as Powerball soars to $850M

PITTSBURGH — The Powerball jackpot has soared once again, with players hoping to win big during Wednesday’s drawing.

An estimated $850 million is up for grabs, but hopeful winners are growing accustomed to seeing those sky-high amounts.

A $1.58 billion Mega Millions ticket sold in August in Florida.

>>> $1.58B Mega Millions jackpot ticket claimed; winner can stay anonymous for 90 days

A month before that, a $1.08 billion Powerball ticket was sold in California.

>>> Powerball: Winning ticket for $1.08 billion jackpot sold in California

“Recently, for the last year or two... they’ve been up really high,” said Sherri Grabowski, who sells tickets as a cashier at Dave’s BP in Summer Hill. “People are really excited about another big jackpot!”

Channel 11 reached out to the Pennsylvania Lottery to ask about the high jackpots.

Executive Director Drew Svitko told us there are two factors at play, including sales.

Svitko explained that ticket sales play a huge hole, and the number “expands as we have more and more states selling online, and more and more retailers selling in-store.”

He added that “interest rates” are the other influencer.

“We pay that jackpot in an annuity, so as interest rates go up, so does the value of our investment that we use to pay that jackpot, so that helps as well.”

Svitko said that there have been no recent formula changes to explain the billion-dollar amounts this year. The odds of winning have remained steady.

CNBC however reported that there were changes to the Powerball in 2015 and changes to the Mega Millions in 2017, which decreased the odds of winning. And, without winners, the jackpot increases.

The Mega Millions ticket also increased, fueling growth, and the opening jackpot rose.

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