Powerball jackpot surges to $500 million in hours before drawing

Although you’re 300 times more likely to be struck by lightning than win tonight’s Powerball lottery, that did not stop millions from lining up Wednesday to buy a chance at the $500 million jackpot. That prize was shared by three winning players in North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico.

Powerball is offered in 44 States, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Purchasing the $1 Power Play option allows a victor to increase lower-tier prizes by a factor of 2, 3, 4 or 5, depending on the Power Play number drawn. Two players bought tickets that turned out to be worth $50,000, matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. None of those were in Kansas.

When the Powerball rose to the 6th largest lottery jackpot in US history, it seemed everyone wanted a piece of the action. “I’d like to drive down the road, see some poor stricken family and give them a million bucks. That’s what I’d do with it”, said Richard Rossman of Barrett Township. “Your odds of winning remain the same, regardless of how many tickets are purchased or how many people play”. With the powerball ticket reaching hundreds of millions, the cash registers are clinging with people hoping to win big. The largest Powerball prize ever won was for $590.5 million, which was awarded to a single victor in Florida in May 2013.

There were 204,213 winning tickets sold for the drawing, according to the lottery website, but the Burbank ticket was the victor of the largest prize.

In case you didn’t catch it, 1 in 292 million: those are your odds of winning. Tickets must be claimed no later than 180 days after the drawing date, according to lottery officials. It was previously estimated at $450 million.

When it comes to jackpot wins, IN is king. Be cautious about joining lottery poolsWhile lottery pools are fun to participate in with friends and coworkers, they can also be rife grounds for lawsuits and broken relationships.