Powerball Jackpot Balloons to $68 Million After Wednesday’s Draw Comes Up Empty

Drawn Wednesday night, the winning combination was 10, 21, 58, 61 and 64; the red Powerball landed on 17, with a 2x multiplier attached through Power Play, according to results posted on Powerball’s official site. Heading into that draw, the jackpot had been pegged at roughly $48.4 million, Louisiana Lottery figures show, with a $21 million payout available to anyone who preferred cash over the annuity. No ticket matched all six numbers for the jackpot, and none hit the $2 million tier set aside for a five-number match paired with Power Play.

A Richer Jackpot for the Weekend

Because nobody claimed Wednesday’s prize, Saturday’s drawing opens with a fatter total on the board. Powerball’s official site puts the estimated annuity jackpot at $68 million for Saturday, with the cash alternative sitting close to $29.5 million. First pitch for that drawing comes at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. Tickets for Saturday’s draw go on sale in 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the United Kingdom joined the roster this summer as well.

Landing all five white balls plus the red Powerball remains a long shot, with odds sitting around 1 in 292.2 million.

Consolation Prizes Still Racked Up

Missing the jackpot didn’t mean an empty night everywhere. The California Lottery counted close to 36,000 tickets across the state that cashed in on some prize tier from Wednesday’s draw. Louisiana’s count ran even higher relative to its size: once Power Play tickets are folded in, the state lottery’s own breakdown shows more than 4,800 winning combinations, the bulk of them $4 and $7 prizes for catching the red ball by itself or alongside a single white number.

Monday Told a Similar Story

It’s a pattern that’s held all week. Monday’s drawing carried an estimated $34 million and also failed to produce a jackpot winner, though one Florida ticket got remarkably close — it caught the five white balls without the Powerball, worth a flat $1 million, just shy of that $2 million tier reserved for players who’d added Power Play, which this bettor skipped. Florida joins Texas and Tennessee among states with no personal income tax, a detail that would matter for whoever eventually claims a Powerball jackpot there.

What Comes Next

Powerball draws three times weekly, always Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, so a miss this weekend doesn’t end August’s chances. Four more drawings remain in the month if Saturday’s numbers don’t hit: Monday, Aug. 24; Wednesday, Aug. 26; Saturday, Aug. 29; and Monday, Aug. 31. Should Saturday’s draw again come up empty, the estimate would climb once more ahead of Monday’s numbers.

Bettors in South Florida strongholds such as Doral, Hialeah and the broader Miami-Dade area will get another crack this weekend at the newly padded $68 million prize, joining players from New York, Texas, Illinois and the rest of the participating jurisdictions.