Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.2 billion ahead of Wednesday's drawing

An estimated $1.2 billion jackpot is up for grabs in the next Powerball drawing on Wednesday night.

It's now the third-largest purse in the American lottery game's history and the biggest so far this year. It's also the seventh-largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever, according to a press release from Powerball.

The grand prize, which has an estimated cash value of $551.7 million, continued its ascent through billion dollar territory after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Monday night, Powerball said.

However, two tickets -- purchased in Delaware and Michigan -- matched matched all five white balls to win $1 million prizes. Two other tickets -- sold in New York and South Carolina -- matched all five white balls and won $2 million prizes by including Power Play, a feature that allows a winner to multiply the original amount of non-jackpot prizes for an additional $1 per play, according to Powerball.

The jackpot was previously won on July 19, when a ticket purchased in California matched all five white balls and the red Powerball to claim $1.08 billion. Since then, there have been 32 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, Powerball said.

Jackpot winners can either take the money as an immediate cash lump sum or in 30 annual payments over 29 years. Both advertised prize options do not include federal and jurisdictional taxes.

The jackpot grows based on game sales and interest, but the odds of winning the big prize stays the same -- 1 in 292.2 million, according to Powerball.

Powerball tickets cost $2 and are sold in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. The drawings are also livestreamed online at Powerball.com.