A look at the record Powerball drawing

With up to $1.4 billion at stake in Wednesday’s Powerball, questions about the drawing seem to be as abundant as the convenience-store kiosks offering tickets for the record-breaking jackpot.

The prospect of a Dollars 900 million win had drawn long queues for tickets across the country.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Powerball jackpot has grown to $1.4 billion, and the drawing is still two days away. The odds to win the largest lottery prize in USA history were one in 292.2 million.

Maryland Lottery officials say there was one ticket sold in Worcester County that matched five of the winning numbers, and is worth $1-million. The bigger number gets more attention, and Grief said lotteries have taken that approach for decades. The prize doubles to $2 million if the player purchased a Power Play ticket, which costs $2 instead of $1 but doubles non-jackpot prizes.

This jackpot began November 4th, and has ballooned over the past few weeks. And that’s optimistic: You have to ensure that you buy every number just once – not just 292 million quick-picks. Winners can also choose the cash prize, which is the total amount now up for grabs, but that is “only” $868 million.

Saturday’s winning numbers – 16-19-32-34-57 and Powerball number of 13 – did gain some people a little wealth: 25 tickets won $1 million by matching five numbers, and three other tickets won $2 million because they paid extra to multiply smaller prizes.

According to Powerball data, the state with the most winning tickets sold is IN with 38 since 1990. About 95 percent of Powerball tickets have computer-generated numbers. Today he’s almost 70 years old and still has to work, and says he wishes he had taken the annuity payments.

It’s “human nature to think the other guy is winning”, said Sally Lunsford, public affairs director for the Kansas Lottery.

Montecelo, 50, said he would retire and donate some of that money and work on administering the rest.