If so, you have to decide whether to take cash, which will actually pay $596.7 million, or choose the $1.2 billion annuity option which is double that but paid over 29 years. Giant jackpot winners almost always get the cash, and financial advisers say that can be a mistake. Nicholas Bunio, a certified financial planner from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, said that even with his expertise, he would take an annuity because it would dramatically reduce the risk of making bad investment decisions. “It allows you to make a mistake here and there,” Bunio said. “People don’t understand that there is potential for loss. They only focus on the potential for profit.” Of course, it’s good to keep in mind that your chance of hitting the jackpot is incredibly small, 1 in 292.2 million. That’s why no one has won the top Powerball prize since Aug. 3 — making it 38 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. All that losing left the Powerball jackpot the fourth largest in US history. If no one wins on Wednesday night, the jackpot could become the biggest ever. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
