(NEXSTAR) - After nearly three months without a winner, the Powerball jackpot has surpassed $1 billion for the second time in game history. While some numbers have a better chance of being winners, it seems where you buy your tickets can also impact your chances.
Powerball has been played since 1992. At the time, there were 14 participating states, as well as the District of Columbia. Since then, 30 more states have joined the game. Wyoming is the newest member after it began selling Powerball and Mega Millions in 2014.
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also participate in Powerball. There are five states that don't: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
For only the second time in the game's 30-year history, the Powerball jackpot has reached $1 billion. Ahead of Monday's drawing, the jackpot is expected to be the fifth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
With the exception of the five states that do not participate, there are four states in which a Powerball jackpot has never been hit: Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
According to Powerball records dating back to 2003, there are also a handful of states that have only had one jackpot-winning ticket purchased there: Arkansas, Montana, Virginia and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.
More jackpot-winning tickets have been sold in Pennsylvania than in any other state, Powerball records show. A total of 18 winners have been recorded in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the most recent jackpot in early August worth $122.4 million.
Florida has sold the second-most jackpot-winning tickets at 16. That includes the largest Powerball jackpot ever, a $1.586 billion pot split between winners in Florida, California and Tennessee in 2016.
Here are the states where the most Powerball jackpots have been hit:
- Pennsylvania: 18
- Florida: 16
- Indiana and New York: 12
- California, Missouri and New Jersey: 11
- Louisiana: 10
Below is an interactive map showing how many winning Powerball jackpot tickets have been sold in each state:
This year, winning tickets have already been sold in Pennsylvania, Vermont, Arizona, Connecticut, California and Wisconsin. That doesn't necessarily mean a winner can't hail from one of those states again -- in 2008, for example, Pennsylvania had back-to-back jackpot winners.
If you’re lucky enough to win the jackpot during Monday night's drawing, you can receive your pot as an annuity (30 graduated payments over 29 years) or as a lump sum. According to Powerball, the jackpot has a cash value of $497.3 million.
Your odds of winning any prize at all are 1 in 24.9, while your odds at the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. There are some numbers that could increase your chances at a Powerball prize, though.
Tickets are $2 per play, and drawings occur every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
In September, two Illinois winners claimed the historic $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn in July. It was the nation’s third-largest lottery prize.
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