Powerball hits $1.5 billion; largest U.S., world lottery jackpot for one winner

The Powerball jackpot climbed Tuesday to $1.5 billion, making the largest U.S. and world lottery jackpot for a single winner even larger, according to lottery officials.

The jackpot is worth $930 million if a grand prize winner chooses an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.

The Powerball drawing is at 9:59 p.m. Iowa time Wednesday, aired live in the Corridor on NBC. The game is played in 44 states, Washington and two U.S. territories.

Of the top 10 Powerball ticket retailers in Iowa between Jan. 3 and Monday, four locations were in the Corridor — three Hy-Vee stores in Cedar Rapids and one in Marion, lottery officials said. Those four locations reported selling $128,021 in Powerball tickets during that period.

The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million, lottery officials said. They estimate that about 86 percent of all the possible number combinations will be purchased before Wednesday's drawing.

Reuters contributed to this report.