Most and least frequent Powerball jackpot numbers

The jackpot in the Powerball lottery in the United States has grown to US$1.3 billion (S$1.87 billion), sparking a frenzied rush to buy the US$2 tickets.

That’s a grand total of $1.2 billion in winnings, $576 million of which would be profit. Or, to put it another way, the odds are equivalent to flipping a coin 28 times and getting heads every time, said Dr Jeffrey Miecznikowski, an associate professor of biostatistics at the University at Buffalo.

But this all largely misses the more important fact: The chances of winning are incredibly remote, so it makes little difference whether you’d have to share the money.

“Think about how many lottery ticket stations there are nationwide and how busy they’ve been, running nonstop over the past three days”, said Matheson. And, like many other players, he has already given some thought to what he would do with the cash. The average Powerball player spent about $7, lottery officials said.

Powerball’s possibilities also caught the eye of part-time security guard Charles Lansche. It hit the billion dollar mark about a week after that.

But he had not bought any tickets yet.

“It’s been way down for the last few years”, said Judith Drucker, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Lottery.

John Bandi who works at the Family Fare convenience store on Weaver Dairy Road said lots of new customers are coming in to buy tickets. “Actually, my girlfriend is nagging me about it, so I probably will”, he said.

The record-breaking Powerball jackpot could grow yet more before Wednesday’s drawing if ticket sales continue to exceed expectations. In fiscal year 2014, the lottery brought in more than $2.9 billion in ticket sales thanks to growth in other games.

(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. The next drawing will be Wednesday night at 10:59 pm ET. During the run, $30 million in sales has resulted in $6.7 million for Minnesota’s General Fund and $5.4 million to benefit the state’s environment. But El Gordo payouts are awarded to thousands of ticketholders while Powerball’s riches could go to a single ticketholder.