Powerball Winning Numbers: Wednesday, Aug. 31

Wednesday's Powerball drawing has an estimated jackpot of $154 million. This Powerball jackpot is still a fraction compared to the record-setting $1.6 billion prize paid in January.

You have a better chance of hitting the jackpot if you let the computer pick your numbers. The Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the Powerball game, says about 75 percent of winning tickets are selected when the numbers are chosen by a computer.

Winning Numbers: 5-10-24-56-61, and the Powerball is 12. Powerplay 2x.

What time is the Powerball drawing? Numbers are drawn at 9:59 p.m. Central time.

Plays cost $2 each, and Illinois residents can buy tickets online at illinoislottery.com, at almost 8,000 retailers in the state or by using the free Illinois Lottery’s mobile app. The overall odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292,201,338, the Illinois Lottery reports.

Drawings are every Wednesday and Saturday.

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When you claim your prize, you may collect the full value paid in 30 installments over 29 years or a one-time lump sum that is smaller than the actual total. The federal tax on lottery winnings is 25 percent.

Winning tickets must be redeemed in the state where purchased regardless of where the winner lives.

Related: Lottery Scams Increase as Jackpots Climb

Powerball is played in Illinois, 43 other states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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