DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Powerball players in Missouri and Texas won the estimated $1.8 billion jackpot on Saturday, overcoming astronomical odds to end the lottery game’s three-month drought without a big winner.

The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, and 62, with the Powerball number being 17.

The prize, which was the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot in history, followed 41 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers. The last drawing with a jackpot winner happened May 31.

Powerball’s terrible odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes. There are three drawings each week.

The estimated $1.8 billion jackpot would go to a winner who opts to receive 30 payments over 29 years through an annuity. Winners almost always choose the game’s cash option, which for Saturday night’s drawing would be an estimated $826.4 million.

Powerball tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A nearly $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot finally found winners during Saturday night’s draw, the Multi-State Lottery Association said.

The jackpot winners hailed from Texas and Missouri, it said, resulting in a two-way split of a $1.787 billion jackpot, the association said in a statement late Saturday.

The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and Powerball 17, it said.

Winners will be able to chose one of two ways to claim their half of the jackpot: an annuitized prize of $893.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $410.3 million. The annuitized prize would come in 30 payments over a 29-year span.

Additional details, including the identities of the winners and where the tickets were sold, have not been released.

Winning tickets with a face value of $2 million each, which matched five numbers as well as the Powerball number, were purchased in Texas and Kansas, the association said.

The jackpot grew as a result of no winners since May 31. Saturday’s drawing was for the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history, lottery officials said.

The only jackpot worth more was the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California on Nov. 7, 2022, they said.

The winning numbers for an estimated $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot — the game’s second-largest prize ever — are 11, 23, 44, 61, 62 with a Powerball of 17.

Saturday’s jackpot has an estimated cash value of $826.4 million, Powerball said. 

It was not immediately known if there were any winners of Saturday’s jackpot. 

The top prize had climbed after no winning tickets were sold for Wednesday night’s $1.4 billion grand prize. There have been six jackpots of more than $1 billion in Powerball’s 33-year history.

“We encourage everyone to play responsibly and take pride in knowing that every $2 ticket also helps support good causes in their community,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO.

Jackpots rise as more and more tickets are sold as drawings approach, and the previous current holder of fourth place is a $1.326 billion jackpot won in Oregon in April 2024.

A single jackpot winner would have the choice of taking a lump sum payment estimated at $826.4 million or opting for a payout via an annuity, which would consist of one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year. 

No one has won Powerball’s jackpot since May 31, when a single ticket in California claimed a $204.5 million jackpot with a cash value of $91.6 million. So far this year, the jackpot has been hit four times.

The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m. ET.

In 2022, a single ticket sold in Altadena, California, claimed a $2.04 billion jackpot, the largest in both Powerball and lottery history. The first Powerball drawing was in 1992.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and cost $2 each.