How Powerball ended up with a record-breaking $1.5 billion jackpot

A customer buys Powerball tickets at Kavanagh Liquors on January 12, 2015 in San Lorenzo, California.

With the Powerball jackpot jumping again this morning to .5 billion, office pools are not the only places taking tonight’s big drawing seriously.

Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot is the largest lottery prize in USA history since no one has taken home the prize since November 4.

A sign showing a Powerball prize of $999 million, the largest jackpot winnings that the Powerball sign can display, outside a deli in Washington, DC, Jan. 11, 2016. Lottery officials expect at least 80 percent of the 292.2 million number combinations will be purchased before Wednesday’s drawing.

The victor could choose to take the 1.5 billion dollar prize in installments over 29 years or in one lump sum of 930 million.

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

The Powerball jackpot has been growing ever since the last victor was drawn in November.

The Primm Valley Lotto Store where Burke bought tickets Monday swarmed with hundreds of dreamers – many of them refugees from the lottery-less Nevada. Assuming Wednesday’s drawing has the same amount of interest, you would only have a 22 percent chance of buying the only winning ticket and keeping the entire jackpot to yourself.

Addiction experts are concerned the rising Powerball jackpot could bring those dealing with gambling addictions back into their old habits.

While you do not have to be a US resident to purchase a ticket in the lottery, there is confusion about whether some Canadians ticket-holders would be eligible to collect the winnings.

In Alabama, people have been talking about instituting a lottery for years, in part because of sales in border states. That means residents of states without Powerball are driving to neighboring states to play the lottery and probably spending money on gas, soda or doughnuts in the process.

Powerball tickets are $2 each.