Powerball jackpot remains at $1.5 billion

A clerk at a 7-11 store pulls Powerball tickets from a printer for a customer, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.

If nobody wins Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing, the jackpot for the next one will be worth an unprecedented $2 billion, lottery officials said.

Meanwhile, in OH, a Better Business Bureau expects scammers to take advantage of the drawing for the largest lottery prize in USA history to trick people into thinking they won smaller prizes.

Meanwhile, a lottery official in Texas said that 85.8 percent of possible number combinations have been selected ahead of the drawing.

Of course, players stand to win the $1.5 billion, which will be $930 million after taxes if a person chooses a lump sum payout.

Wednesday’s jackpot is now an estimated $1.5 billion. South Dakota is among the 44 states that play Powerball.

Since the last winning draw in early November, $2.65 billion in Powerball tickets have been sold nationwide, he said. The previous record for the largest US lottery prize happened in 2012, when a Mega Millions game rewarded the multiple winners across Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland with the split $656 million.

Each jurisdiction spends the money raised through the lottery differently, with the rules determined by state Legislatures.

If a victor isn’t drawn, it will be the 21st without a grand prize victor.

“I think a lot of folks who usually don’t play the lottery are seeing the news coverage about this world-record jackpot and they want to be apart of it”, he said. Once reporting is done, the winning numbers will be posted on the Idaho Lottery’s website, idaholottery.com.

Each ticket qualifying for tonight’s jackpot costs $2.

“I’d certainly take care of my family”, he said.

The federal government withholds 25 percent from lottery winnings, and the victor would have to pay the remaining taxes owed when he or she files taxes.

In the past week, calls to the Washington-based National Council on Problem Gambling’s help line have soared, largely because of interest in the Powerball jackpot, Executive Director Keith Whyte said.

“We’ve had a $1 million victor who didn’t come forward until March or April”, she said.