Buying a Powerball ticket now offers the chance to daydream about spending the largest lottery jackpot in the world – some $1.4 billion.
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To win the jackpot, a ticket holder has to match all numbers on five white balls and one red ball selected at the twice weekly Powerball draw – next due on Wednesday at 10:59 pm (0359 GMT Thursday).
But let’s say you beat the odds and won the entire jackpot (and we hope they are ever in your favor). Per $2 ticket, that works out to $1.43, plus 32 cents for the lower-tier prizes, minus 70 cents for taxes, totaling $1.05 in expected earnings per ticket. This is true, as the Multi-State Lottery Commission last fall added more numbers to choose from. Lottery officials expect at least 80 percent of the 292.2 million number combinations will be purchased before Wednesday’s drawing. The Idaho Lottery estimates $3 million in dividends were created from last week’s Powerball sales. The Pennsylvania Lottery has sold 17 jackpot-winning Powerball tickets and two jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets.
Lump sum: The $1.5 billion prize is cut to $930 million if the victor takes it all at once.
The huge jackpot has increased since November and rolled into the billion-dollar territory after no one matched all six numbers on Saturday night when the jackpot was just more than $900 million.
“I thought maybe I’d be part of history”, said Burke, a Vietnam veteran who joined hundreds of people bundled in coats and scarfs before the doors opened at the Primm Valley Lotto Store off Interstate 15.
“I honestly don’t know why we don’t have one”, said Castle, explaining that she has friends in OR who are buying her Powerball tickets this week.
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But since your chances of winning are about the same as getting struck by lightning after getting elected president, you’re probably not going to win it. However, if you’re feeling lucky, here are a few tips to consider should you happen to win. Internet sales of Lottery games is not allowed in Idaho. Keep quiet: Until the money is in your bank account and you move to an undisclosed location, you might want to avoid announcing your win on Facebook.
