Powerball jackpot jumps to $1 billion. Here are the odds of winning the big prize

The Powerball prize has hit $1 billion for Wednesday night’s drawing, the highest jackpot of the year.

Powerball draws occur on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:59 p.m. and the last chance to buy a ticket ends at 7 p.m. on the day of the draw.

Wednesday’s jackpot has an estimated cash value of $433.1 million and is the eighth-biggest jackpot in Powerball history, game officials said in a news release. Tickets are $2 a piece and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

The last jackpot was won on May 2 and it has rolled over 43 times since then without a winner.

But not winning the jackpot doesn’t mean there’s no cash to be won.

California Lottery officials are reminding players that the winner of a $1.53-million Powerball prize in San Diego County from the Feb. 21 drawing still hasn’t come forward. The expiration is Aug. 20 and the ticket won’t be valid past then.

The winning ticket matched 27, 28, 36, 48, 49 and missed the Powerball number 21. The ticket was sold by Varso Gas in Escondido.

The winner for this five-number match has 180 days from the date of the draw to claim their Powerball prize, according to the release. If no one claims the prize by next Thursday, the money will go to public schools in California as dictated by the statute. The California Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for public schools in unclaimed prizes since 1985 when tickets first went on sale.

Anyone who purchased a Powerball ticket at Varso Gas has been encouraged to check their ticket, according to the release.

If you have the winning ticket, California Lottery recommends you visit a California Lottery district office before the deadline, bring the original ticket and a government-issued photo ID and complete a claim form available online at calottery.com or at any district office.