Powerball jackpot increases again to $1.5 billion

The grand prize in Wednesday’s drawing is the world’s richest lottery jackpot that could go to a single ticketholder, and the amount is expected to rise further before then, according to lottery officials.

The large jackpot has those who can’t play in their states driving across state lines – if they can.

“The whole building’s putting in two bucks, so we’re all going to party down in the Caribbean and split the money”, joked Mark Ferro, who works for a property management company.

“I just get one (ticket)”, said Steve Campbell, of North Hampton.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338, and 1 in 24.87 of winning a prize at all.

“Everybody at work is just dreaming out loud and I actually said this morning I wonder how many offices are having the same conversation”, said Marlene Rijo, 31, who works for a general contractor.

Grayson matched the first five numbers drawn in Saturday night’s drawing to win his big prize: 16-19-32-34-57.

The 25% Federal tax deduction from the lump sum would ding an additional $139.5 million, leaving the victor with $418.5 million. State coffers would receive $81.27 million. For more typical Powerball jackpots, New Hampshire sells about $400,000 to $500,000 of tickets a week, lottery officials said.

Jeffery Grayson, 56, won $1 million playing Powerball with a ticket purchased at the Meijer store located at 3175 South Rochester Road, in Rochester Hills.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki). Momtaz Parvin pulls Powerball lottery tickets from the printer at her store in Oklahoma City, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, as the multi-state jackpot reaches $800 million. So perhaps the more relevant question is what will happen to the money you’ll lose by spending $2 per Powerball ticket.

But Grief sounded a note of caution.

He said players should stay calm and play responsibly. “This is not a game to put your life savings on, your retirement on”, he said. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to five times may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. “The most important thing is to help my family, make sure they’re o.k. and they get their needs take care of”.

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