Powerball jackpot climbs to $572 million ahead of Wednesday’s drawing

(CNN) — When the next Powerball numbers are drawn Wednesday evening, a lucky lottery player somewhere in the country could head into the holidays with a $572 million jackpot.

When no tickets matched the numbers for the $543 million prize in Monday night’s drawing, the jackpot continued to swell, according to the multistate lottery. A winner in Wednesday’s drawing could choose to receive the money in annuitized payments or take the $286 million lump sum.

There were five Powerball jackpots awarded this year, with winning tickets purchased in Washington, Virginia, Ohio and California, according to the lottery.

This is the fourth Powerball jackpot to reach more than half a billion dollars this year, according to Powerball. A ticket in California won the last Powerball jackpot, $1.765 billion, in October.

Tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.