$325 MILLION: Powerball lottery jackpot increased before draw date

Sounds like you are on the bandwagon now.

Sounds like you are on the bandwagon now.

Depends on who won it. If it is another wealthy financier then yes, I will definitely believe that something is not Kosher. 

After finding out Bernie Madoff was able to "manage" $60 billion for decades without ever making a single trade in the stock market, I no longer believe that anything is impossible from these guys.

how long did it take mm to get to $51mil?

Mega Millions is on its sixth draw in the current run.  The draw number for Powerball that just produced the $334.9 million winner was draw number 14.

For me, with my system of playing, since Mega Millions was last won on draw #8, I will play Mega Millions every draw until it is won starting with next Tuesday's jackpot (Feb 21), if Mega Millions is not won on this upcoming Tuesday or Friday.  However, I am playing Mega Millions this Tuesday, because today (Saturday) is the 11TH, and the Mega Millions advertised jackpot is $51 million, and 11 and 51 both end in 1, so I am playing.  Just the same, I will play Mega Millions next Friday if the advertised jackpot ends in 5-, 6-, or 7- million (ex, the jackpot rolls to $65 million), since next Wednesday is the 15th, Thursday is the 16th, Friday is the 17th.

However, with Powerball, things are different, since tickets cost $2, so, assuming the PB jackpot continues to roll, the CURRENT draw date where I will even CONSIDER playing Powerball is March 31st (the fourteenth draw in the new run if the run is not aborted by another jackpot win), and, in THEORY, I would only purchase a ticket for that draw if the advertised jackpot ended in 9-, 0-, or 1- million (Thursday the 29th, Friday the 30th, Saturday the 31st).  Of course, in reality, with Powerball's increased ticket price and minimum rollovers, the CASH jackpot will probably reach $240 million (the current US record, held by Mega Millions) before March 31st if it is not won before then, in which case, I would automatically purchase a ticket for the draw.

The "relative jackpot win" and "draw date ones digit - advertised jackpot single millions digit" rule is my way of controlling purchases for both jackpot games.  With Mega Millions (and for Powerball under its former $1 game), it's "relative jackpot win" OR "draw date ones digit," but with Powerball, it's now ("relative jackpot win" AND "draw date ones digit") OR "record cash jackpot."

so your only playing when it goes over $100mil?

Not necessarily.  If someone wins Powerball on Wednesday at its starting jackpot, I would CONSIDER playing Powerball on every draw in the run starting next Saturday (but obviously not next Saturday itself, since the jackpot would still be $40 million, and Thursday is the 16th, Friday is the 17th, Saturday is the 18th, and none of those dates end in 0), until that run produces another jackpot winner.  However, say Mega Millions is won in back-to-back draws, I would automatically play Mega Millions in every draw after the $12 million jackpot win, until the run after that is over.

Welcome to LP DisplacedLurker.

Yeah its a higher density, but anyone who play's still has just a good a chance of winning.

So when are you going to start playing?

Thanks for the warm welcome, mcginnin56! 

Oooh, yes, anybody has an equal chance of winning, of course. Afterall, it really only does take one ticket. I didn't mean to shoot down any dreams, ha ha. I just figured that since there is a higher population density in the east, there would be obviously more ticket sales, and thus, more people overall who could have scored the winning ticket versus someone else in the nation. Doesn't mean they necessarily have a better chance at winning over someone else so much as does explain why there have been some recent jackpots won in the east. That's all I meant, ha ha. 

Besides, we don't need to be divulging into possible conspiracy theories. The news is hardly out, and we don't know this particular person's story. Whose to say who this person is compared to the other people who have won recent jackpots? And, regardless of who it was, I'm happy for them. I wish them nothing but luck with their new found fortune. 

Oh, I don't know, I kind of want to be that lucky SOB who plays the PB once and scores the jackpot, lol.  But in all seriousness, whenever I can round up a nice little lottery fund to safely bet with within my budget and feel comfortable with the process, I'll start playing.

Thanks for the warm welcome, mcginnin56! 

Oooh, yes, anybody has an equal chance of winning, of course. Afterall, it really only does take one ticket. I didn't mean to shoot down any dreams, ha ha. I just figured that since there is a higher population density in the east, there would be obviously more ticket sales, and thus, more people overall who could have scored the winning ticket versus someone else in the nation. Doesn't mean they necessarily have a better chance at winning over someone else so much as does explain why there have been some recent jackpots won in the east. That's all I meant, ha ha. 

Besides, we don't need to be divulging into possible conspiracy theories. The news is hardly out, and we don't know this particular person's story. Whose to say who this person is compared to the other people who have won recent jackpots? And, regardless of who it was, I'm happy for them. I wish them nothing but luck with their new found fortune. 

Oh, I don't know, I kind of want to be that lucky SOB who plays the PB once and scores the jackpot, lol.  But in all seriousness, whenever I can round up a nice little lottery fund to safely bet with within my budget and feel comfortable with the process, I'll start playing.