Powerball jackpot surges to $810 million – the eighth highest lottery prize in US history is up for grabs TONIGHT

Entering the new year, the Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $810 million – the eighth-highest lottery prize in US history.

The jackpot is up for grabs tonight during the 10:59 PM ET drawing after the final drawing of 2023 failed to produce a top prize winner on Saturday.

If won, the lucky player will receive an estimated cash prize of $408.9 million, according to the lottery.

The last time there was a jackpot winner was on October 11, 2023, and since then there have been 34 consecutive Powerball drawings in which no one has won the top prize.

However, there were several tickets that won big prizes in Saturday's drawing.

According to Powerball's website, two tickets purchased in Texas and West Virginia won $2 million each, while five lucky tickets in Colorado, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee won $1 million.

Powerball is one of the most popular lottery games in the US, with more than 181 million Americans playing every year.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever, in November 2022, was advertised as $2.04 billion.

In the game, players choose five main numbers between 1 and 69 and one 'Powerball number' between 1 and 26.

According to Powerball, the overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.87, based on a $2 game. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Jackpot winners can choose to pay via an annuity paid out over 30 years, or an upfront cash prize.

The lump sum payment is lower because the annuity option takes into account an annual growth of 5 percent. Despite this, most Powerball winners choose the cash upfront option.

The last time the jackpot was won was on October 11, 2023, when a ticket from California earned a whopping $1.72 billion.

However, so far no one has come forward to claim the staggering prize – and they have a year from October 11 to do so.

According to the California Lottery, the ticket was purchased at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, about 70 miles from Los Angeles.

The last time the jackpot was won was on October 11, 2023, when a ticket from California netted a whopping $1.72 billion

It comes after a fascinating study revealed the Powerball numbers most likely (and least likely) to be selected.

Gambling site experts CSGO analyzed the most frequently drawn numbers in more than 950 drawings between 2015 and 2023.

The number 13 is the least common; it was drawn only 51 times in the past eight years, the study found.

However, it was discovered that the number 61 was the 'luckiest' number, as it was chosen 90 times during that period.

The CSGOluck.com study took into account the most frequently chosen numbers in the main part of the drawing.

Rong Chen, a professor of statistics at Rutgers University, previously told DailyMail.com that while some numbers are drawn more often, that does not mean they are more likely to be drawn.

“In theory and in practice, all combinations have an equal chance of winning,” he said.

But that doesn't mean Americans can't use a strategy to maximize their expected profits.

A fascinating study from gambling site CSGO analyzed the most frequently drawn numbers in more than 950 draws between 2015 and 2023

Because the jackpot is shared by all the people who picked the winning numbers, it would be wise to select numbers that are less likely to be selected by other players, he said.

That means you should avoid common patterns or choose numbers greater than 31, as many people choose to use their date of birth.

This strategy was echoed by Mark Glickman, a senior lecturer in statistics at Harvard, who shared CBS News: 'Even though you cannot increase your chances with one draw, what you can do is use a strategy that actually increases the chance that you will not share your prize money.'

'Instead of choosing regular numbers or patterns on cards, you should actually choose random numbers.

“You should just have random numbers with no pattern, no birthdays that have special meaning to you, because other people will probably make the same choices,” he said.