Powerball Hits $1.8 Billion: What Would You Do If You Won?

If you could wake up tomorrow with $1.8 billion (yes, with a B), what’s the first thing you’d do? Pay off the mortgage? Buy season tickets for Alabama football? Take the whole family to Cancun?

That’s the fun of the Powerball... even if the odds are slim, the “what if?” is half the excitement. And right now, the jackpot has ballooned to a mind-blowing $1.8 billion, the second-largest in U.S. history.

How Do You Play?
It’s simple... but tickets at $2 each. Pick five numbers (1 - 69) plus one red Powerball (1 - 26). Add Power Play for $1 if you want to boost smaller prizes. You can also have them auto generated.

 

Drawings happen Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights at 10:59 p.m. But here’s the catch... Alabama doesn’t sell lottery tickets.

Where Can Madison Residents Buy a Ticket?
If you’ve gathered all of your loose change, head down to Ardmore, Tennessee. It's the quickest option. I know there's one convenience store that sells Powerball tickets. Ask me how I know.

 

A Look Back at Past Wins
While Alabama has no winners (since we don’t sell tickets), our neighbors have cashed in big...

 

Georgia... $478.2 million jackpot in 2024.

Tennessee... Multiple winners over the years, including a share of the record $1.6 billion jackpot in 2016.

 

But What Are the Odds, Really?
Winning the jackpot: 1 in 292 million
Winning something: About 1 in 25

 

 

 

So no, it’s not likely you’ll be the next billionaire. But for $2, you buy a dream... and sometimes that dream is worth it.

 

Over dinner tonight, ask your family... If we won $1.8 billion, what’s the first thing we’d do?