Powerball Losers Are Kind Of Losing It While Watching The Jackpot Build To Historic Heights

Powerball fever is breaking out again after Wednesday’s night drawing came and went without a winner. The jackpot is now at an estimated $1.5 billion for Saturday’s drawing. That’s a whole lot of cheddar, and it’s got people on social media losing it over missing out on Wednesday’s $1.2 billion haul. Even Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is trying to get in on the action.

According to CNN, the jackpot total has been ballooning since August, but surprisingly, the $1.5 billion is not the highest total. Although, it’s pretty darn close:

There have been 39 consecutive Powerball drawings since August with no winner, ballooning the jackpot to one of the largest in US history. The record is a $1.586 billion Powerball grand prize shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016, according to Powerball. In July, a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot was won by a ticket in Illinois. A $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize was claimed in South Carolina in 2019.

If Saturday does produce a winner, that ticket would be eligible for a one-time payment of $745.9 million, according to a statement from Powerball. Or the winner could go with the annuity option, which would spread 30 payments over the next 29 years. Either way, it’s a buttload of cash, and social media is starting to go nuts over the whole thing.

While most of the reactions are bummed at missing Wednesday’s numbers, there’s a palpable feeling of hope (and lotto frenzy) going into Saturday’s drawing.

You can see what Powerball nuts are saying below:

(Via CNN)