Powerball jackpot reaches $348 million

Americans are leaving behind billions in unclaimed lottery tickets
Americans are leaving behind billions in unclaimed lottery tickets

Here we go again!

The current jackpot for the national Powerball lottery has reached $348 million after 17 drawings without a big winner.

The last jackpot to reach this level eventually grew into the largest in U.S. history -- $1.5 billion.

That one garnered a lot of attention. In January, three winning tickets were sold in Chino Hills, California; Munford, Tennessee; and Melbourne Beach, Florida.

Now, the winnings are inching closer to reaching $400 million and cracking the list of the largest lottery jackpots of all time.

This pot has been growing since March 2, after a 67-year-old man in Florida claimed the previous Powerball jackpot of $291.4 million.

The latest Powerball drawing was Saturday night: The winning numbers were 3-12-16-32-34 and the Powerball was 14. About 1.3 million people won something -- for a total of $12.8 million.

But no one took the jackpot home. The next drawing is on Wednesday.

Related: Selling a winning Powerball ticket can get you $1 million ... or just $25k

While the jackpot is advertised as being worth $348 million, a winner will only receive that amount if she takes the annuity -- the money is paid out over 30 years.

The lump sum option, which is more popular, has a cash value of $226.1 million.

As the pot grows, more and more people are likely to rush out to pick their numbers. But the odds of winning aren't great.

Individual tickets have only a 1 in 292 million chance of having the jackpot-winning six-digit combination.

Even just guessing the Powerball number, which will get you $4, is hard -- the odds are 1 in 38.

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