Powerball Winning Numbers for August 31; Live Results for the $154 Million Pot; Schedule of Draw
Update – August 31, 2016 – 11:00 p.m. ET: The winning numbers for Wednesday's Powerball jackpot are 5, 10, 24, 56, 61 and the Powerball is 12. The Powerplay is 2x.
The Powerball grand prize for Wednesday, August 31, just got boosted up to an estimated $154 million, with a $107 million cash-out value.
The pot raise comes after no one won the jackpot on Saturday, August 27, which was at $141 million, with an estimated payout option of $91.1 million.
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Powerball draws are held bi-weekly every Wednesday and Saturday, at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
Recap of August 31 draw
On Wednesday, the winning numbers were 4, 32, 48, 49, and 63. The Powerball was 20, while the multiplier was 2x. No lucky player was able to win the top three prizes: the jackpot, $2 million (which is won by matching all five white balls with a Power Play option), and the $1 million (which is won by matching all five white balls).
Ten lucky players, however, were able to match four white balls and the Powerball for the $50,000 prize. Two other players were able to match four white balls, the Powerball plus the Power Play option to double their earnings to $100,000. Meanwhile, 300 players were able to match four white balls for $100, while 74 other players played the Power Play option to split $14,800 among themselves.
Nearly 650,000 tickets won a prize on Saturday's draw, while a total of more than $4.1 million was split among the lucky winners. The brunt of the winners came from the states of California, Florida, and New York.
How Powerball works
For aspiring millionaires, playing the Powerball is quite easy. Players simply have to submit five numbers (for the white balls) from one to 69, and another number (for the Powerball) from one to 26 balls. They win by matching all five numbers and the Powerball, and the odds of successfully doing so are one in 292 million.
There are nine ways to win a prize in the Powerball lottery. The second prize is won by matching all five white balls for $1 million, and the third is won by matching four white balls and the Powerball for $50,000. One can still win a prize even if he or she only managed to match the Powerball for $4. The overall odds of winning any prize are one in 25.
Where to play Powerball
"America's Favorite Lottery" can be played across 44 states, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Washington.
Each Powerball ticket costs $2, while players can also opt for the Powerplay option for an additional $1. The Powerplay will multiply all non-jackpot winnings depending on the day's multiplier: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10.
