A Powerball jackpot of $500 million to be announced Wednesday has sparked a surge of ticket sales in the state, according to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
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Nobody has matched all six numbers in one of the bi-weekly Powerball drawings since November 7, 2015.
Saturday’s Powerball jackpot will swell to an estimated $675 million, which would be the largest Powerball jackpot ever and the largest US lottery jackpot ever. The jackpot was the sixth highest amount it has ever been in North America, as well as the highest it has been in nearly a year. The annuity is based on the $500,000 jackpot and payments will average $16.6 million per year before taxes.
Millions of people have purchased lottery tickets as excitement for the Powerball drawing builds, driving the estimated prize up to $500 million from $450 million earlier on Wednesday. The cash value is $306 million.
The app will soon work with retailers in every state that participates in the lottery to make claiming rewards easier for winners. Last summer, changes made to the popular lottery game pushed the odds up to 1 in 292 million, making it harder to win the jackpot.
The Powerball jackpot starts at $40 million and continues to grow by at least $10 million each drawing until it is won.
Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing is up to $524 million.
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If you don’t win the jackpot there’s still other prizes to play for. Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. 2 NEWS Reporter Jordan Bowen talked to some ticket buyers here earlier today, who have say they have big plans if they hit the jackpot. Joining with colleagues and friends can increase the fun of playing, but the odds of winning are so tiny that adding 50 or 100 chances doesn’t matter much.
