At one point Wednesday morning, the Pennsylvania Lottery says that tickets were being sold at almost 4,200 per minute.
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“It is exciting to kick off the New Year in a big way with a big jackpot”, said Alice Garland, the lottery’s executive director.
The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing has grown to an estimated $500 million. “And then the rest would go into real estate”.
Odds are that there will be a million-dollar victor in this week’s Powerball lottery who will never know they won.
A sign shows the Powerball amount has climbed to 500 million dollars at the BP gas station, January 6, 2015, in Dunkirk, Maryland. Last summer, changes made to the popular lottery game pushed the odds up to 1 in 292 million, making it harder to win the jackpot.
It was initially set for $400 million, but lottery officials say the surge in ticket sales caused an increase.
There has not been a Powerball victor in more than 2 months, leading to the big numbers for this drawing. The prize holds a cash value of approximately $306 million. “They have been coming here for 20 years or more”.
David Tafolla also bought a ticket Wednesday. The $500 million prize is based on an annuity, which would pay out the money over 29 years.
My wife always told me things come in sets of three whether it be good or bad and this is a good shot to see if it’s going to happen or not.
“If I hit the lottery, I have to take her and her husband for lobster tail!”
One customer asked, “Who wouldn’t buy a Powerball ticket to have a chance to win millions?”
“This is the first time I’ve played Powerball”, said Jaymes Ayes.
The Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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If no one wins tonight, the jackpot will move closer to one billion dollars for the next drawing on Saturday night.
