Powerball players just miss $279 million jackpot — but still win big in California
Two Powerball tickets sold in California won $38,848 each but just missed the $279 million jackpot, lottery officials say.
The tickets matched four of five winning numbers and the Powerball in the drawing Monday, March 3, the California Lottery said.
Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $295 million, with a cash value of about $139 million, for the next drawing Wednesday, March 5, the national Powerball site said.
The winning numbers were 18, 20, 50, 52 and 56, with a Powerball of 20, the lottery said. The Power Play multiplier was 2x.
More than 377,000 other Powerball tickets sold in the United States also won prizes ranging from $4 to $100,000, the lottery said.
The Powerball jackpot was last won Jan. 18, when an Oregon player hit the $329 million grand prize, lottery officials said.
What to know about Powerball
To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.
The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Powerball players just miss $279 million jackpot — but still win big in California."