Powerball: 67 millionaire-making prizes since November

Lottery officials say the prize has now swelled to an estimated $1.3 billion – the world’s largest, ever.

Instead, the 28 people won the second-place Match 5 drawing, meaning that they each had the same numbers of the five white balls that were picked for the Saturday Powerball drawing.

The prize, which rises with every drawing that produces a winning series of six numbers held by no ticket buyer, ranks as the largest jackpot for any lottery in North American history. Many Iowa Lottery signs that display jackpot amounts for both Powerball and Mega Millions are set to display amounts in millions – not billions.

The immediate cash value lump-sum payment of winning the jackpot would be $806 million. “Absolutely confirmed”, Texas Lottery executive director Gary Grief said. About 95 percent of Powerball tickets have computer-generated numbers.

California, the nation’s most populous state, normally sees Powerball sales of $1 million a day, but on Saturday morning sales were a head-spinning $2.8 million an hour, said California Lottery spokesman Mike Bond.

Most convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores sell Powerball tickets, either through an automated machine or behind the counter. The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday.

The lottery’s revenue in December increased by $4.1 million from a year ago to $38.6 million, while the lottery’s net proceeds for college scholarships increased by almost $1 million from a year ago to $6.4 million, the lottery reported Monday in its monthly report to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Legislature’s lottery oversight committee.

So in Texas, billboards are advertising the prize as $999 million.

While there was no jackpot victor, more than 252,000 prizes ranging from $4 to $150,000 were won in IL during Wednesday night’s drawing.

The ticket was purchased at a Stewart’s on Route 9 in Valatie.

Several £1 million prizes from the EuroMillions Millionaire Maker raffle are still unclaimed.

People are already buying their tickets for the next drawing because the jackpot is so big. Most of those who include the words Powerball and conspiracy together in their tweets claim that Powerball is something designed by the government to collect money.

Ticket sales were brisk before Saturday’s $949.8 million drawing, and the interest has only grown since then in the 44 participating states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The current jackpot has been growing since November 7.

But with so much money at stake now, the record jackpot has lured an unprecedented frenzy of purchases.