Several in-store New Jersey Lottery jackpot displays early Sunday morning were black for the Powerball jackpot, indicating that the signs may not be able to handle such a high jackpot.
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The Powerball fever is expected to continue now that the Powerball jackpot has grown to an estimated $1.3 billion.
Despite the slim odds of winning, Powerball is generating frenzied sales of the $2 tickets for the Wednesday drawing. No one has come forward yet to claim the prize.
The current jackpot started at $40 million (£27.6 million) on 4 November, meaning 13 January’s draw will be its 19th rollover. The odds of matching five white balls to win $1 million are one in 11.7 million, and the odds of matching four white balls plus the red Powerball to win $50,000 are one in 913,129. No ticket matched all six numbers to claim the $949.8 million jackpot, boosting Wednesday’s jackpot to a whopping $1.3 billion.
Drop This Fact: If a victor was drawn on Saturday and they’d chosen lump sum for their winnings they could have taken home $558 million, according to BBC News. The electronic signs used at businesses who sell Powerball tickets are only created to display amounts in the millions of dollars, so the amount showing for this prize is $999 million.
Sales for the lottery game have skyrocketed since Wednesday, when no one won an estimated $500 million jackpot.
Spain’s Christmas lottery, called El Gordo (“The Fat One”), is often called the world’s biggest lottery.
A Powerball ticket costs $2.
The grand prize for Powerball, played in 44 states, Washington, and two US territories, is worth $558 million if a victor chooses an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, California lottery officials said in a statement.
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The first five can be in any order but the sixth must be the Powerball. Anndrea Smith, 30, said Saturday that she already had spent more than she usually does on Powerball tickets. But even lottery officials say they don’t know what to expect.
