To put the immensity of that into context, note that for Monday's drawing players across the country chose just over 20% of those possible combinations. Those odds mean there are 292.2 million possible number combinations. The game's odds remain 1 in 292.2 million regardless of how big the jackpot is and the number of people buying tickets. DO POWERBALL ODDS CHANGE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS? Players who buy winning grand prize tickets in a state different from where they live will pay taxes based on where they bought the ticket. State taxes will vary as some states don't tax lottery winnings at all and others tax the money at different rates. State lotteries will immediately deduct 24% of jackpot winnings for federal taxes, and additional federal taxes may be required when filing federal tax returns. If a winner dies before collecting all their money, the remainder would go to the winner's estate. Players also can choose an annuity, in which that $551.7 billion would be paid to a company that would guarantee a return over 30 years of $1.2 billion. That's why the cash prize - which most winners take - would be $551.7 billion.

However, even though the current jackpot is advertised as $1.2 billion, the lottery has less than half that amount available for the top prize.

The jackpot is based on revenue from ticket sales, so the more people who play the game, the faster the top prize grows. Calculate the cost of your holiday dinners with this tool HOW IS THE JACKPOT DETERMINED?

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