Powerball hits $1.7 billion

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published September 5, 2025 at 9:00 AM PDT

The winner of this weekend’s Powerball lottery jackpot will be $1.7 billion richer.

We talk with Jonathan Cohen, author of “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America,” about where the money goes when a lottery ticket is purchased and why people continue to dream big about winning when the odds are stacked against them.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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