$450 MILLION: Powerball sales bonanza sparks early jackpot increase

Comment #89

MaximumMillions — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 16:00:57 GMT

I imagine states where you can buy tickets at the gas pump are now a great alternative? The average novice player probably doesn't know how to figure it out and the shortened wait time would be worth the 1$ transaction fee.

Comment #88

RJOh — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 07:32:18 GMT

Where I buy tickets, lottery isn't their main business and there are never any more than a couple of clerks so someone is almost always waiting to be served. Some retailers require players to make out play slips or buy quick picks because of the time it takes otherwise.

Since PB tickets can't be canceled, clerks don't want the responsibility of punching in the wrong numbers and having to buy the tickets themselves.

Comment #87

ArizonaDream — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 02:05:11 GMT

Around here, the clerk can manually enter your choosen numbers. Happened to me once when they didn't have any lotto slips. It was a slow day and I only had one set of numbers, they might have balked if I had mulple sets to enter or a long line behind me.

Comment #86

RJOh — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 00:59:13 GMT

System players who didn't plan ahead and store up some play slips may be out of luck when they go to get some, the places I went didn't have any. Quick picks may be their only choice.

Comment #85

AbsolutelyFun — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 12:22:08 GMT

Looks like a helluva monster home to clean. You will most certainly need a staff.

Comment #84

RJOh — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 05:39:07 GMT

With 26 PB tickets I can guarantee a $4 win. $15 of MM tickets guarantees a $1 win/$52 of PB tickets guarantees a $4 win, maybe PB has a better deal.

Comment #83

LottoMetro — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 05:08:40 GMT

Annuity is based off the cash and it can fluctuate depending on the cost of financing the prize. I believe MUSL uses the rate for the following business day.

The exact prize amount is almost never the same as the advertised....closely estimated but rarely exact. The most accurate figure to look at is the lump sum

Comment #82

Teddi — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 02:15:30 GMT

They did it to that SC guy too. Advertised JP was $400 million and they paid out $399.4. They were off by almost $10 million in Gloria's case and so in many ways it makes sense for them not to try to bridge that shortfall. $600,000 doesn't seem that much in the grand scheme of things, and players do want that number to be correct. Or if it's off, they want it off in their benefit.

But I get the other side. The lotteries have accounting regulations to follow and bridging the gap would mean fun... [ More ]

Comment #81

Teddi — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 01:53:25 GMT

but I thought they honor the advertised annuity . Thinking one thing while the reality is something different. Yeah, there's a big surprise.

Comment #80

Ron5995 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:29:13 GMT

I too was surprised when I read the actual payout was less than advertised. In contrast, many state lotteries do and will pay out the widely advertised jackpot amount for their in-state games. PA Lottery is very good about paying what's advertised regardless of actual sales; favoring the player.

Many poo poo the issue, but many players bought tickets for that 2013 Powerball drawing in large part to the annuity jackpot being touted as $600 million, which wasn't true.

Sure, the vast, vast ma... [ More ]

Comment #79

KY Floyd — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:56:38 GMT

It's been a long time since I paid attention to such details, but I thought they honor the advertised annuity. There's extremely little risk in doing so, because they generally make conservative estimates, and almost nobody takes the annuity. I'd guess that there's less than a 10% chance of having to honor the annuity value, and perhaps a 10% chance of not having enough to fund the annuity if somebody takes it. That's a 1 in 1000 chance of losing the few million it would take to fund th annuity.... [ More ]

Comment #78

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 17:40:03 GMT

Just saw it.

Ready for a billion

Comment #77

mypiemaster — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 16:51:13 GMT

This sucker keeps on growing. Up to half a billy{$500M} Nice!!!.

Comment #76

HoLeeKau — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 16:05:36 GMT

Yeah, I'm embarrassed to even be seen with a ticket. I feel like such a dupe

Comment #75

dallascowboyfan — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 15:25:20 GMT

$450 Million Woo Hoo

Comment #74

AbsolutelyFun — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:55:47 GMT

Yeah if nobody hits it Wednesday night then yeah it will start at $600M for the Saturday drawing but ticket sales will shoot up substantially because everybody will be talking about how the PB has NEVER been that high before (previous being the $590.5M win) so a lot of people who would normally sit out or have given up as a result of the newer, higher odds will jump in just because everybody they know is jumping in also. You know the talk of the town kind of thing or the since everybody is doing... [ More ]

Comment #73

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:38:43 GMT

I mean, of course it can be hit at any time provided at least one ticket is sold, but seeing how even the highest jackpots reached rolled after this level at easier odds I agree that this could possibly keep rolling for another 4 weeks like the JP right around the matrix change, as you mentioned.

Comment #72

AbsolutelyFun — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:36:41 GMT

Actually after October 4th 2015 (the day they changed PB to the higher odds currently in force), there were 9 drawings before someone hit it. That equates to 4 and a half weeks before it was hit so a bit more than a few weeks. Just being anal. My apologies if you're offended. Frankly speaking though, I was surprised that it hit so quickly what with the odds being so much higher.

Comment #71

Redd55 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:30:36 GMT

Eh. Someone already won it a few weeks after the matrix was changed. So, not impossible.

Comment #70

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 13:37:33 GMT

Only if you don't wear them but keep them on display under glass domes maybe.

Comment #69

Teddi — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 12:58:12 GMT

Oh darn.

Okay, what if i bought 400 pairs of pants but they were different styles and colors. Would that work

Comment #68

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:36:57 GMT

I know, but him being Hawaiian doesn't mean he couldn't have bought it on a trip from Hawaii to Cali. Or maybe he immigrated to the continental US.

Comment #67

Bleudog101 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:26:51 GMT

Chubby Hawai'ian would have to fly to the states to get his ticket since HI is too dependent on tourism to ever consider a lottery there. If they ever did, it would be strange to have an afternoon cut-off time for purchases due to the time difference.

Comment #66

AbsolutelyFun — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:10:16 GMT

YES! I think it will rollover again and when it does it will easily surpass the previous record PB Jackpot of $590.5 Million won by Gloria C. MacKenzie out of Zephyrhills, FL back in 2013. What with the odds higher than they used to be (since the PB change on October 4, 2015) that translates into the lottery having to sell every permutation and combination possible to guarantee a winner. Thing is that since odds are now higher there can be a set or sets of numbers that simply never get sold and

Comment #65

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 10:39:14 GMT

Exactly what I don't get, people make multiple 10$ Starbucks runs a day but get all preachy over a 5$ lottery ticket entertainment-buy that could possibly have you fly first class for the rest of your live instead of giving you diabetes.

Comment #64

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 10:36:41 GMT

All of the above is why people win.

I'm sorry Teddi, you need to make some changes if you want to win the big bucks

Comment #63

MaximumMillions — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 10:19:56 GMT

By the way I dreamt a (chubby) Hawai'ian won it. Just wanted tp put that out there.

Comment #62

myturn — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 08:51:58 GMT

If you play, maybe these states would be your best bet!

States where lottery winners could remain anonymous

Currently six states Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. And four more Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts allow anonymity if the winners claim their winnings through a trust.

Comment #61

music* — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 07:08:20 GMT

490 million is my guess. I think that it will be won this draw.

Comment #60

Suzy-Dittlenose — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 06:51:54 GMT

I'll predict a bump to 510 million. Anyone else want to guesstimate the final pot

Comment #59

savagegoose — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 06:22:56 GMT

after reading how worthless my $2 ticket was, i tossed it out the window. thanks math guys

Comment #58

LottoMetro — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 06:10:57 GMT

I could be wrong but I think this would be quite a stretch. They would need nearly $200 million sales more than their original projection....on a Wednesday.....

Now to start the next drawing? Sure, though I am thinking it would be closer to $600M.

Comment #57

RedStang — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 05:49:47 GMT

If they bump it i think 525 may be next.

Comment #56

En ReVal — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:27:23 GMT

Texas was part of the last big win in Feb. 2015. Hopefully, we can pull a couple 2nd prizes, but you never know. Much success to you

Comment #55

VenomV12 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:20:09 GMT

Even if you win this jackpot Oprah will still have more money than you and probably won't sell you her house.

Comment #54

mypiemaster — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:17:14 GMT

This is actually a great time for me, to win the MM jackpot because nobody will even care or notice. Talk about hiding in plain sight. Yeah my eyeballs are beginning to stretch. Too many people to staff that very humble abode.

Comment #53

noise-gate — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 03:00:14 GMT

That's Small, what you want is something that will melt the eyeballs,something like this

Comment #52

mypiemaster — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:49:05 GMT

COME TO MAMA . This baby is all mine.

Comment #51

Teddi — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:48:01 GMT

Oh well, Robert Uomini said playing the lottery is ridiculous when you consider the odds and as a mathematician he knew playing the lottery made no sense. He still played and he won $22 million. Isn't that the reason lotteries are so successful? Logically we all know the odds of winning are absurd. But the reality is, someone always wins eventually. As long as you don't have a gambling problem, if you can afford to spend $1 or $2 on a ticket, who's it hurting

Comment #50

crazyjaney — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:46:02 GMT

The comments on this thread are truly awesome!!! I love this place

Comment #49

AbsolutelyFun — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:29:34 GMT

Article is titled: We did the math for the $450 million Powerball jackpot and concluded it's not worth buying a ticket

Then they say, Given the overwhelming likelihood a 96% probability that we wind up matching absolutely nothing and therefore wind up just throwing our $2 out the window, our expected value ends up being $0.14 in the red. We would need a prize of around $500 million to get a positive expected value.

Hey close enough to make it worth the risk. Besides if you don't play t... [ More ]

Comment #48

Original Bey — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:09:41 GMT

Add to that the fact that reportes flaunt their tickets and make light of it. They are hoping to be the subject of the next big news story. They just read the script but in truth dream as every other player does. Things that make you go hmmm...

Comment #47

Prob988 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 02:04:27 GMT

The cash value suggests that the lottery is supposing it will have sales of $220M, or sell 110M tickets.

The randomized Poisson distribution for the numbers of winners is as in the following table:

k, number of winners p(m,k)

0 67.58%

1 26.48%

2 5.19%

3 0.68%

4 0.07%

5 0.01%

The most probable outcome at this point is still another rollover, which is an indication of how hard they've made Powerball to win.

The pretax expectation value is... [ More ]

Comment #46

Piaceri — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:57:01 GMT

Texas is due a big win. Any one of us will do, if I don't.

Comment #45

Erzulieredeyes — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:53:11 GMT

That's an appropriate lottery winner/millionaires house! lol Nice price too. Good luck

Comment #44

Stack47 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:52:29 GMT

Yep, every time a jackpot gets into the must win range, the so called experts come out of the woodwork. The NFL playoffs are just starting, the college football final is next week, the NBA and college basketball are mid season, and the presidential primaries are over a month away so it's a slow news day/week/month and the PB jackpot is the news.

The experts either tell us why buying a ticket is a bad idea or will tell us how to win. For those of us that discuss lottery stuff, it's simple; if... [ More ]

Comment #43

Murgatroyd — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:48:44 GMT

If my expected value for playing the game, based on the cost of playing and the probabilities of winning different prizes, is positive, then in the long run the game will make me money. If expected value is negative, then this game is a net loser for me.

Note that with probabilities as small as the ones in the lottery, the long run over which things average out is much longer than any one player's lifetime.

Comment #42

Artist77 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:38:29 GMT

So if this thing rolls, I am assuming no more than 4 more drawings...or I will have to leave work early to get tickets. I think we might be at 750 million or more in 4 more drawings??? Then I can go back to not playing again. Lol

Comment #41

rcbbuckeye — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:26:58 GMT

Impossible to have a chance unless you are in

Comment #40

rcbbuckeye — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 01:22:05 GMT

If I don't win it I hope one of us Texan LP members win it.

Comment #39

Artist77 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:33:24 GMT

Yea...people have mentioned that to me but I work long hours in NW DC and live in nova. Some weekend though I need to do this. I don't live near a metro so waiting on my bus back into va on a weekend would take forever. But it would be a perfect way to win.

I could use Todd's lottery places app. in MD.

Todd... I would like a refund if I do not win also. Lol

Comment #38

LottoMetro — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:28:56 GMT

The thing about experts is that they will always jump on the opportunity to come out and be right about something, no matter how meaningless that something is.

Comment #37

LottoLucy — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:27:01 GMT

You certainly worked for your ticket!

Ever think about taking the red line over to Maryland where you can claim your win anonymously?

Good Luck

Comment #36

LottoMetro — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:23:31 GMT

https://www.lotterypost.com/news/297783/4417127

See my post from 2 days ago. They underestimated sales for the last draw and hence this coming draw. It seems like a big leap but it's really not considering they were under-advertising to begin with. Of course they would rather raise the jackpot to drum up more excitement than advertise it at proper levels from the start.

Comment #35

Artist77 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:19:40 GMT

My heroic efforts and sob story to get my tickets in DC.

-Left work 30 minutes early ....on the coldest day of the year...so I could make it to a convenience store (closes at 6 pm) by the metro.

-This meant I skipped my bus...2 blocks from work... that would take me directly to my neighborhood.

-Got my tickets for 4 drawings and went downstairs to the metro. Missed the train by 10 seconds that would take me to the Pentagon where I could take a bus home.

-Ran up and out of metro to c... [ More ]

Comment #34

VenomV12 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:18:47 GMT

Wouldn't that be something if this thing hit a billion dollars or more. That would be kind of crazy to see. As always I would happily take a million and quietly disappear.

Comment #33

THRIFTY — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:48:04 GMT

01-03-30-55-62 / 03

07-24-32-38-59 / 25

24-28-31-32-34 / 20

04-39-40-41-48 / 13

17-21-38-39-64 / 11

03-23-28-40-54 / 09

09-10-12-36-37 / 26

17-20-21-48-57 / 20

01-21-50-52-62 / 12

04-16-29-46-49 / 12

17-21-25-39-45 / 01

04-22-59-66-69 / 06

13-32-45-46-47 / 12

34-35-58-59-69 / 13

23-32-41-48-61 / 06

05-15-21-39-59 / 15

01-04-16-58-69 / 04

11-15-18-57-68 / 21

05-23-48-64-68 / 16

03-16-39-46-54 / 06

14-20-28-60-66 / 26

07-08-30-60-63

Comment #32

THRIFTY — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:42:37 GMT

0 IN 292,201,338 VERSUS 1 IN 292,201,338 TO WIN THE JACKPOT.

I play only to win the big jackpot, regardless of the odds. I only buy a ticket or two. There is not much difference between 1 or 100 in 292,201,338 but there is a huge difference between those odds and 0 in 292,201,338. In other words not much reason to buy several tickets, just one. RAY

Comment #31

dpoly1 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:29:25 GMT

My new cottage will be on 7.4 acres and only $995,000

Comment #30

Todd — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:28:02 GMT

You wonder if you can get a refund on a lottery ticket? Are you serious? Hopefully you were kidding.

It's not surprising to see a mainstream news source claiming lotteries are bad bets. In case you haven't noticed, every mainstream news source says playing ANY lottery game is stupid.

Tell that to the guy who wins.

Also, I wasn't aware that spending $2 on a lottery ticket was such a big deal to the folks at Business Insider. The reporter probably spent double that amount on their last cu... [ More ]

Comment #29

HoLeeKau — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 23:05:16 GMT

Well, Business Insider has declared that it's not worth buying a ticket. I wonder if I can take my ticket back for a refund before the drawing?

Consider the expected value

When trying to evaluate the outcome of a risky, probabilistic event like the lottery, one of the first things to look at is expected value. The expected value of a randomly decided process is found by taking all of the possible outcomes of the process, multiplying each outcome by its probability, and adding all of these... [ More ]

Comment #28

Get paid — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:55:10 GMT

Sorry wrong tread,this is about marie.

Comment #27

Get paid — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:52:49 GMT

Its her money,it doesn,t help me one way or the other.I,m going to buy me a powerball ticket an see if the lottery gods will bless me.I don,t care what marie does with her money.three dollars an a dream.

Comment #26

LottoLucy — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:44:21 GMT

OK, I'm weak. I have no will power. I caved.

I have not bought a powerball ticket since the matrix change. I said that I would only play when it was $500 million or more. But I have had a bad day and when my husband very nicely offered to stop and pick me up some tickets I said yes.

so, I may be weak and have no will power. I may have caved. But...

I'M IN

Comment #25

Teddi — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:24:46 GMT

Dear God:

I don't go to strip clubs with wads of cash left in unlocked cars; I'm not an alcoholic, drug addict or recovering addict of any kind; I've never been involved in an armed robbery; I don't have a boyfriend with a condiment as a nickname; I've never, nor will I ever, buy 400 pairs of the same pants.

I know I'm not the kind of person to have or do any of these things, even so, could you please let me win this one

Comment #24

whiteballz — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:14:59 GMT

Gotta be in it to win it.

Comment #23

faber98 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:09:06 GMT

just went out and bought the exact same numbers so you and i can share the jackpot.

Comment #22

RJOh — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:28:20 GMT

Now that PB jackpot is $450M I've decided to buy 10 PB tickets with no guarantee instead of 15 MM tickets with every megaball and a guarantee of a $1 win.

Comment #21

BR3TT722 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:26:32 GMT

Dreaming BIG

Comment #20

THRIFTY — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:25:41 GMT

46-53-55-56-63 + 22

15-34-47-56-58 + 05

04-16-58-65-68 + 19

03-04-21-55-60 + 07

13-17-22-28-63 + 08

14-18-31-33-54 + 10

09-19-44-50-59 + 22

09-15-29-31-44 + 11

18-44-45-58-65 + 25

06-15-30-32-39 + 09

03-04-31-37-44 + 26

24-44-46-47-53 + 02

15-21-24-37-46 + 12

03-27-35-46-65 + 14

16-19-27-40-46 + 18

05-11-30-38-39 + 02

18-22-25-26-49 + 16

36-49-63-64-66 + 14

01-12-18-21-29 + 22

01-06-29-42-53 + 11

07-14-38-49-69 + 15

01-12-21-22-52

Comment #19

GGStarlings — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:19:59 GMT

Yes, it's been awhile, huh. Good luck to you too, man

Comment #18

Bilionario — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:18:52 GMT

...watch this space.

Comment #17

HoLeeKau — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:17:22 GMT

LOL Good luck, GG! Hope it comes to Boise again. It's been too long.

Comment #16

GGStarlings — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:13:09 GMT

Hey now, HoLeeKau, that means I'll have to buy one from Albertsons too. Just to deepen the mystery.

Comment #15

Guru101 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:12:51 GMT

I don't believe they were being deceptive advertising a $600m jackpot. It is in fact an estimate after all. They can't know beforehand the exact amount the jackpot will be because there are too many factors. At super high jackpot levels, it is to be expected that their estimates have a greater degree of variance as opposed to lower jackpot levels. Sometimes their estimates are higher, sometimes they're lower. I'd say just a $10m difference at those levels is actually pretty close. Surely had the... [ More ]

Comment #14

HoLeeKau — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:11:17 GMT

I just bought my line for the next draw from an Albertson's vending machine. So if someone in Boise wins from there, you'll know it's me.

Comment #13

weshar75 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 21:06:01 GMT

I would like to thank in advance all the little people who bought tickets and let me win this jackpot and no I will not be handing out any money to any one so don't ask this money is all mine baby!-weshar75

Comment #12

Spiritualist — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:20:17 GMT

Very good point. Thanks for adding clarity to this issue.

Best of luck to all the lottery players out there

Comment #11

BBLL — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:15:14 GMT

That would be amazing.

Comment #10

maximumfun — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:11:10 GMT

Good Luck to us! Holding out for a LP winner

Comment #9

Ron5995 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 20:07:35 GMT

MUSL estimates are all too often portrayed as fact by participating lotteries in promotional ads, and don't reflect reality. The #3 jackpot won in Florida a few years ago was widely advertised as $600 million annuity, and yet only paid out $590 million annuity. Deceptive.

Sure, the FL winner still made out well, but many players who didn't win, played in large part, due to seeing the $600 million advertised number, which turned out be a faulty estimate - again, to reiterate, widely advertised... [ More ]

Comment #8

Groppo — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 19:28:46 GMT

Yes, thank you, you too.

But seriously folks, all I want is a couple of million, and I'll be set.

So, if you are the sole winner, I now ask for $1 million even. It was .5,

then, .75. I now want the whole million, since the jp just got upped 50 million.

Comment #7

Piaceri — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:54:13 GMT

I'm volunteering as guinea pig to win a single ticket winner.

SINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNERSINGLEWINNER

Comment #6

noise-gate — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:30:50 GMT

Wonderful- As Little Richard once said You keeping talking like that, you gonna make me scream like a white woman in church.

Comment #5

Prolific-Atom — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 18:11:12 GMT

5 numbers with powerplay. 2 my own numbers, 3 qp Then wait for Lady luck. Good luck all of you

Comment #4

travelintrucker — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:31:26 GMT

I have to deliver a load in eastern Pennsylvania. I had $5 worth of winners to redeem. So, I decided to stop at Penn 80 Flying J truck stop where Steve Peloquin won Mega Millions back in July. Surprisingly, there was no line. In fact, I had to wait about 3 mins. for someone to come over. I bought 2 quick picks powered up with the $5. My Mega numbers are alright. I really like my Powerball numbers. Good luck everyone

Comment #3

BBLL — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:29:40 GMT

Big money

Comment #2

ThatScaryChick — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:09:58 GMT

Good luck to everyone playing

Comment #1

savagegoose — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:07:29 GMT

keep those doggies rolling

$450 MILLION: Powerball sales bonanza sparks early jackpot increase

Lottery Post — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 17:01:12 GMT

6th-biggest lottery jackpot in US history

By Todd Northrop

Due to larger than expected sales volume, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has raised the official Powerball lottery jackpot estimate for Wednesday's drawing to $450 million.

The all-important lump-sum cash value of the jackpot has been raised to $275.4 million.

The newly-increased annuity and cash value jackpot amounts are both the 6th-largest ever recorded in United States lottery history. The top-25 annuity and c... [ More ]