A woman purchases Powerball lottery tickets in New York, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016.
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“When the jackpots get big like this, it creates a frenzy”, said Brian Johnson, vice president of finance at Casey’s General Stores, which runs 1,900 stores in 14 states.
The chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are slim, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people from buying into the Powerball craze.
A victor would have the option of being paid $1.5 billion through annual payments over 29 years or opting for one smaller cash payment.
No one matched all six Powerball numbers on Saturday night – 16-19-32-34-57 and Powerball number of 13 – so the jackpot is still theirs for the taking.
The largest jackpot in U.S. history shot up to $1.5bn on Tuesday, driven by record sales as people flock across state lines and worldwide borders to buy tickets, a lottery executive said.
He says, “If I win, I’ll let you guys know”.
Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The jackpot continues to grow as more and more players play the odds for the highest lottery prize ever awarded in the USA, the Michigan Lottery reported.
If you elect to take the jackpot in one lump sum, the jackpot is cut 38 percent to $930 million.
Despite the staggering odds of winning, the staggeringly large jackpot is fueling sales and hopes. Grand prize winners can take single payouts but, to get the full value of the prize, must take payments over 30 years.
Update: The Powerball lottery has now reached .3 billion after no winning numbers were drawn Saturday.
The odds of having the winning Powerball ticket are 1 in 292.2 million.
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Most recently, there was one $1 million Match 5 victor in Boston. The bigger number draws more eyeballs, so that’s why the organizers go with it. Officials said the victor – who was not identified – can claim the ticket at TIoga Downs in Nichols, or at any of the Lottery’s Customer Service centers statewide.
