Powerball Jackpot For April 19, 2017: $80 Million

Have you bought your tickets yet? The jackpot for Wednesday night's drawing is $80 million, or $49.8 million cash value. The numbers will be selected at 9:59 p.m. Central Time, so be in it to win it and let Patch give you all the information you need. Want to know where to buy your tickets? Click here for the Texas lottery retailer database.

The record in the game was a $1.6 billion drawing in January 2016, which was won by a group of Tennessee workers. Just last month, on Feb. 22, a lucky player in Indiana won the $435 Powerball jackpot, the 10th largest in the game's history.

Each ticket costs $2. Saturday's jackpot is tiny when compared with the January 2016 record Powerball jackpot, which was worth nearly $1.6 billion. But Americans will still drop by the nearest convenience store with dreams of cash and buy a ticket. The billion-dollar-plus prize won in the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing was the largest lotto jackpot awarded in U.S. history and was split by three winners. In the summer of 2016, a New Hampshire player won a $478 million prize.

If you still want to take a chance — someone has to win, right? — 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.

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The lottery game is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball draws can be seen on hundreds of TV stations nationwide. It may also be available on cable or your mobile device. The draws are also posted on YouTube and on our site. Where to watch the Powerball drawing on TV.

Claiming, Safeguarding Winnings
So, what should you do if you win the big prize? Many lottery winners hire an attorney, financial planner or both, since most people don’t exactly know what to do when they suddenly come into so much money. Some even bring their lawyer with them to claim their prize. The lottery does not offer any counseling services or advice for winners.

You have two choices when you claim your prize: the full value paid in 30 installments over 29 years, or a one-time lump sum that is smaller than the actual total.

Then there are the taxes. The federal tax on lottery winnings is 25 percent. Then, any extra income taxes like state or city would apply.

Financial experts say that if you can get more than a 3 or 4 percent return on an investment, the lump sum is actually the best way to go in the long term.

(Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed to this story.)

— Image: Powerball.com

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— Image: Texas Lottery