(CelebNMusic247-News) Powerball Jackpot Hits $550 Million:
Looking for a big payday? Dueling Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are giving many in the USA two chances to strike it rich Friday and Saturday.
“When you consider all the money that’s going to be on the line in the next few days with lottery drawings, it’s just an eye-popping amount,” says Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for Iowa Lottery.
The Powerball jackpot has soared to about $550 million before Saturday’s drawing after no tickets matched the winning numbers of Wednesday’s drawing. Rival Mega Millions’ grand prize, at $190 million, could climb higher before Friday’s drawing. No tickets matched all of Wednesday’s Powerball numbers: 2, 11, 26, 34, 41 and a Powerball of 32.
“This is the point where people who don’t normally play or maybe even aren’t familiar with the lottery go out and buy a ticket,” says Andi Brancato, director of public relations for the Michigan Lottery.
Sales are highest the day of the drawing, and Brancato said to expect peak sales Friday as people stop to pick up a ticket on their way home from work and all day Saturday as people are out and about running errands.
Virginia expects to sell 4.7 million Powerball tickets on Saturday alone, at a rate of 9,500 tickets per minute during peak times, says John Hagerty, Virginia Lotteryspokesman.
California, which started selling Powerball tickets at the beginning of April, expects “full-blown lotto fever,” says Greg Parashak, spokesman for the California Lottery. The state expects long lines before both lottery drawings and anticipates a lot of residents picking up both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets, he said.
“We’ve just been on this for a little over a month, so it’s pretty safe to say we expect record sales between now and Saturday,” Parashak said.
A single Powerball ticket costs $2, while a Mega Millions ticket costs $1. A jackpot of $550 million ranks as the second largest in Powerball history and third biggest overall.
Both lotteries hit records in 2012, with a $587.5 million Powerball payout in November and a $656 million Mega Millions payout in March. The games are played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the top jackpot prize in either game are one in 175 million.
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