Powerball is soaring past the record for the biggest jackpot in USA history.
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Since no one won Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing worth around $500 million, ticket sales continue to surge in the state. “If this is the first time you’ve bought a ticket, and you don’t win anything in this particular draw, it’s probably going to be until the next big jackpot before they try again”, Thompson said. That’s because they don’t have any legal lotteries at all, including the overlooked Mega Millions, which has a $165 million drawing at 11 p.m. ET Friday.
The last Powerball jackpot victor was in November, when a ticket holder from Tennessee claimed $144.1 million. By making it harder to win a jackpot, the tougher odds made the ever-larger prizes inevitable.
The logo for the multi-state lottery Powerball.
The odds are a matter of statistics and probability, but they’re facts that most players may not completely understand, said Ron Wasserstein, executive director of the Alexandria, Virginia-based American Statistical Association. Because the payout is based on sales, the prize has grown more quickly as people rush to buy tickets.
Some players feel they improve their chance of winning by pooling their money with co-workers, with a promise to split the winnings.
Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Winners have a choice of taking their money as an annuity – that’s $800 million in annual payments over 30 years – or receiving a lump sum of $496 million.
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With one ticket, the victor would make more than some of the world’s highest paid celebrities, like Floyd Mayweather, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Garth Brooks, combined.
