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).

Is today your lucky day? The Powerball lottery jackpot was an estimated $1.25 billion for the Wednesday, Dec. 17 drawing with a cash option of $572.1 million, according to the Powerball website. It will be the sixth biggest Powerball and 11th largest US ...