That’s thanks to an October rule change by Powerball that made it easier to win a second-tier prize, but more hard to take home a big jackpot.
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Meanwhile, sales for last Saturday’s drawing topped $13.1 million just in Minnesota – that breaks the previous record of $10.8 million, set November 28 of 2012 for a (measly) $587 million jackpot.
The game seemed to defy its own odds Saturday night when it failed to produce a victor, even though 75 percent of the almost 300 million possible number combinations were sold.
The Powerball jackpot has risen to a world-record $1.4 billion jackpot.
That in turn has persuaded some Americans who normally shun lotteries to join the long lines of people buying tickets at retail stores across the country. The Powerball game is played in 44 states and three US territories.
The next drawing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at 7:59 p.m.
The Powerball jackpot swelled to $1.5 billion on Tuesday morning, a day ahead of the next drawing.
“With no one matching all the numbers on Saturday and Wednesday’s sales getting a jump start because of the thousands of players cashing in lower tier prize winning tickets, the new jackpot is expected now at $1.4 billion”.
The buzz caused ticket sales to skyrocket, and the grand prize inched closer the the billion-dollar mark in the hours ahead of the most recent drawing on Saturday, January 9. Lottery officials encourage people to play responsibly, and to remember that buying extra tickets does not increase your odds of winning.
Elsewhere, one $2 million ticket and at least one $1 million ticket were sold in CT, while three $1 million tickets were sold in MI, according to lottery officials in those states.
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One man, Richard Lustig, has won the lottery seven times. Numerous ads will air before Wednesday’s drawing, officials said.
