“The more people playing, the more people winning you end up having more ways that you have to split the prize”, said O’Laughlin.
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According to lottery officials, it is the world’s largest prize ever offered. With ticket sales doubling previous records, the odds are growing that someone will win SaturdayÂ’s record jackpot, but if no one wins the top prize, next weekÂ’s drawing is expected to soar past $1 billion.
If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball for Wednesday’s drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow.
Anita Goodwin from Hammond, Ind, buys her Powerball lottery tickets for Saturday’s $900 million multi-state drawing January 8 in Chicago. A person’s odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million.
The 25% Federal tax deduction from the lump sum would ding an additional $139.5 million, leaving the victor with $418.5 million.
The next drawing is Wednesday at 9:59 p.m. Central time. In fact, the chances of billion-dollar jackpots would increase eight times, one site predicted. “We do have some digital billboards across the state that will reflect it”, says the lottery’s John Crow, “but, right now, this billboard behind us is the one where we are adding the B”. Tickets worth $2 million were sold in Connecticut and Texas, while tickets worth $1 million were sold in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, according to USA Today.
I read a couple of other stories saying Powerball is a racket, that they really won’t pay out $1.5 billion if you win.
Where can you buy a ticket?
All six numbers must appear on the winning ticket.
Where should I take my winning ticket?
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Head over to the USA Mega Jackpot Analysis site for a breakdown of every states’ tax rules in relation to the Powerball.
