A Powerball player there holds the winning ticket from Wednesday night's drawing for the game's $1.817 billion jackpot. The winner, who so far hasn't gone public, can choose between an annuitized prize of $1.817 billion or a lump sump payment of $834.9 million (both prize options are before taxes).

The Powerball jackpot just keeps on climbing! No one matched all six numbers in the Wednesday, Dec. 17 drawing so the jackpot will increase to an estimated $1.5 billion for Saturday, according to the Powerball website. The cash value will be an estimated ...