Drawing results pending for Powerball jackpot worth estimated $500 million

The current jackpot is the fourth largest in Powerball history. The massive jackpot has been steadily growing since the last Powerball jackpot victor claimed the prize November 4.

The jackpot is so high that people who don’t usually play can’t resist paying two dollars for a chance to win hundreds of millions.

The jackpot’s estimated cash value is now sitting at $306 million.

Foos was not the only new lottery player salivating over the $500 million prize, as Powerball sales soared from Tuesday night through Wednesday at many local gas stations and convenience stores.

Powerball has announced there were no winning jackpot tickets sold for its $500 million drawing on Wednesday.

A woman purchase Powerball lottery tickets from a newsstand Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Philadelphia.

Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Peuto Rico. 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.

Woosley said in the email that he hoped the state could add between $500,000 and $600,000 in sales before Wednesday night’s drawing.

NBC reports the jackpot is the largest Powerball prize since February 2015, when three people in North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico all drew the winning number.

Some players feel they increase their odds of winning by pooling their money with co-workers, with a promise to split the winnings. Each year, $800 million lottery prizes go uncollected. There are nearly as many ways of choosing lottery numbers as there are chances of winning it.