A customer buys Powerball tickets at Kavanagh Liquors on January 12, 2015 in San Lorenzo, California.
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Dozens of people were seen lining up in front of World Class Bakers early Wednesday morning for a chance to get their hands on a ticket in the lucrative lottery, which now has a jackpot now valued at about US$1.5 billion.
The jackpot for tonight’s Powerball drawing is now up to a whopping $1.5 billion, with a cash value of $930 million. Powerball’s website report there were 18,315,365 players whose dreams of winning that night’s $900 million jackpot were dashed.
The odds of picking the winning number in the Powerball drawing are 292 million-to-one, according to officials with the Arizona Lottery. 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.
Choosing the annuity option would give the victor the $1.5 billion over a period of 29 years.
Since North Carolina got the Powerball in 2006, there have been four jackpot winners. The state’s casino-based tourism industry accounts for 28 percent of Nevada’s total workforce, pays taxes that make up 45 percent of state general fund revenues, and is a major contributor to political campaigns. Roughly a dozen states have some form of online lottery services.
Jennifer Berry, from Huntsville, Ala. picks her numbers for the Powerball jackpot as other hopefuls wait in line to buy lottery tickets at a gas station in Ardmore, Tenn. In Hawaii, lawmakers have proposed lottery measures, but the idea always fails.
Wexler, who says he overcame a compulsive gambling habit in 1968, has some advice for people who think they are going to win the big payout by buying a batch of tickets.
Daniel said she’s noticed more people have been opting for quick picks rather than filling out their own numbers.
Powerball tickets are sold in 44 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Pennsylvania does not tax people who bought a ticket in the state.
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Other states seem less likely to adopt lotteries.
