The largest Powerball prize ever awarded in Pennsylvania was a $110.2 million cash-value jackpot claimed by a New Jersey couple in May 2004.
Advertisement
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) that operates the game on behalf of 47 participating lotteries, including the Louisiana Lottery, made the announcement Friday morning based on a nationwide surge in sales Before the increase, the advertised jackpot was $700 million. If there is no victor on Saturday, Wednesday’s jackpot could hit or go above the $1 billion mark, lottery officials said.
That raised the odds of winning the top prize to the present 1 in 292 million from 1 in 175 million.
Lottery fever has boosted ticket sales in advance of Saturday night’s drawing.
Arizonans are flocking by the dozens to convenience stores across the state for the chance to win the multimillion dollar Powerball jackpot.
But as lottery officials say, your odds are zero if you don’t play. Of the 44 US states that participate in Powerball, all but a handful will take an additional cut of the money, according to lottery statistics site USA Mega. The victor can choose to be paid the full jackpot in annual installments over 29 years – or take a lower one-off payment in cash. One Chevon gas station in Phoenix has already seen a heavy influx in customers purchasing tickets ahead of the drawing.
In October, a switch was made that made it tougher to win the jackpot but bettered contestants’ odds of winning smaller prizes. Remember, there are eight other ways to win in Powerball besides hitting the jackpot.
Since ticket sales began for the November 7 drawing through Wednesday night, Powerball players across North Carolina won more than $7 million in prizes – and ticket sales generated more than $14 million for education. Winning $1 million by a five-number winning pick are slightly better at about 11.6 million to 1.
Advertisement
Louisiana Lotto players matching all six numbers drawn would have won or shared a $325,000 prize, which will rise to an estimated $350,000 for Saturday. The odds of winning the jackpot with a $2 ticket are 1 in 30,821,472.
