Powerball Jackpot at Record $425M and Growing
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The jackpot for Wednesday’s Powerball drawing now stands at $425 million — the richest Powerball pot ever — and it’s likely to get even sweeter.
“Back in January, we moved Powerball from being a $1 game to $2,” says Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery. “We thought at the time that this would mean bigger and faster-growing jackpots.”
And it’s proved true. The total, she says, “has been taking huge jumps — another $100 million since Saturday.” (The most recent drawing, on Saturday night, produced no winning numbers.)
Until now, the biggest Powerball pot on record — $365 million — was won in 2006 by eight Lincoln, Neb., co-workers.
Lottery officials in Iowa, where Powerball is headquartered, have started getting phone calls from all around the world.
“When it gets this big,” says Neubauer, “we start getting inquiries from Canada and Europe from people wanting to know if they can buy a ticket. They ask if they can FedEx us the money.”
The answer she has to give them, she says, is: “Sorry, no. You have to buy a ticket in a member state from a licensed retail location.”
Asked if there’s anything players can do to improve their odds of winning, Neubauer says no — apart from buying a ticket, of course.
Lottery officials put the odds of winning Wednesday’s Powerball pot at one in 175 million, meaning you are 25 times more likely to win an Academy Award.
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