This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history.

Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The jackpot has been growing each week because no one has matched all six numbers since May 31.

As ticket sales climbed this week, game officials raised the estimated Saturday night jackpot to $1 billion from $950 million, before taxes. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner can choose an immediate lump sum of $453 million, again before taxes.

“We’re bringing extra excitement to Labor Day weekend,” said Matt Strawn, head of the Iowa Lottery and chair of Powerball.

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At the Triple Fam Mart in Mount Vernon, the owners sold tickets to a steady flow of customers all week as the jackpot continued to grow.

And Saturday morning was no different. With each sale, they would wish the billionaire hopefuls “Good luck!” with a smile.

Maryland has produced three Powerball jackpot winners since 2010, including the $731 million in 2021 when a group known as “The Power Pack” claimed the largest jackpot in the state’s history and the sixth largest ever sold in the U.S.

As the Powerball jackpot approached $750 million last week, two Maryland tickets won $500,000 each in the “Double Play” drawing - one sold in Landover, another in Riverdale. These prizes remain unclaimed. So, check those tickets!

A ticket sold at Bernie’s Liquors in Baltimore also netted $500,000.

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The odds of matching all six numbers, of course, are daunting: 1 in 292.2 million. By comparison, the odds of getting a rare shark bite during a last summer dip in the ocean are much lower, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Powerball and Mega Millions are lottery games with potentially huge jackpots because they are played in multiple states. The top Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion on Nov. 7, 2022. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.6 billion on Aug. 8, 2023.