The drawing, set for 11pm local time is the 41st 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 US$2 ticket. Chances of that happening are one in 292.2 million.

The prize ranks as the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot and is a little more than half of the largest ever in US lottery jackpot history. That came in November 2022 when a single ticket holder in California won a US$2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.

Last week, a single ticket matched all six numbers in the Mega Millions drawing, winning a hefty US$1.13 billion, the fifth-largest prize in that game’s history. That ticket was sold in New Jersey.

Should the lucky winner choose to accept it in a single lump sum, the prize in Saturday’s drawing carries a cash value of about US$608.9 million. The other option is an initial payment followed by 29 annual payments.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and in Puerto Rico.