Sales grow as Powerball jackpot soars to $800 million

We’re not talking about buying a ticket and the chances you have to win.

The odds of winning are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the draw.

A Portland man has won a $1 million Powerball prize, good for $670,000 after taxes, according to the Oregon Lottery. Instructors at Mathnasium in north Fresno say it’s highly unlikely you’ll win. Here’s how it works, you take a picture of your lottery ticket on your phone, the app will then notify you if your a victor.

How much money the victor, or winners, actually receive depends on whether they choose to receive annual payments over 20 years, or take a single lump sum, which would be an estimated $496 million. Well, we have a few tips on ways you can increase your chance of winning the largest Powerball prize in lotto history!

Yet even with brisk ticket sales, only 64% of all possible six-digit combinations have been selected, Traverso said.

File image of a person purchasing Powerball lottery tickets from a newsstand Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, in Philadelphia.

To find our more about the math behind the madness of winning, see our story on the odds behind the Powerball.

The next Powerball drawing will be 7:59 p.m. Saturday.

Quinnipiac University Professor Cornelius Nelan says it’s all about the number of combinations you can make with 69 white balls and 26 red.

“I played like once but I didn’t win, so I quit playing”, Sioux Falls resident Tamara Two Hearts said. The Powerball drawing is just before 11PM Saturday night and stores will stop selling them about an hour before that.

If a non-U.S. citizen wins the lottery they are subject to federal withholding taxes for non-U.S. citizens, which is 30 per cent of their winnings. Sales determine Powerball’s grand prize, and the size of Powerball’s grand prize determine sales; sales from those who don’t play regularly start to pick up when a jackpot tops $200 million.