Firstly, the Powerball drawing, which still uses the traditional bingo like balls, is held in only one location, so the particular state one plays in makes no difference in regards to hitting the jackpot.
The biggest factor for the states lead in the jackpots is the number of players in them who participate - it's no surprise California and New York are at the top. However, this does NOT effect the odds of winning one bit; it's meaningless. Same chance of winning no matter what state one plays in.
As for sending money to a "friend" - that's a bad idea, because if the ticket turns out to be a winner, the "friend" will likely want some, or even all, of the jackpot winnings. And even if you have everything in writing, litigation could drag on for months to years with no guarantee of prevailing.
And then there's the tax consequences to consider, since some states levy no tax on lottery winnings while many others have widely varying rates that can be upwards of 10%. For example, it would be a very bad idea for a Pennsylvania player to play Powerball in another state, because those winnings would then be taxable at the state level too; in-state lottery winnings in PA are exempt from PA state tax.
In short, play Powerball yourself at a location convenient to you.
On a related topic, the method of generating quickpicks may vary from state to state / type of terminal utilized (ie. PA has at least two different types, and they operate differently). Not a biggie, but some players prefer very diverse, random-looking numbers verses getting patterns / similar numbers on multiple lines, which could potentially occur depending on how the terminal generates quickpicks - they're not guaranteed random; not scrutinized like drawings are. But if one plays their own numbers, the quickpick aspect doesn't matter either.
Finally, a player is 34 times more likely to hit the second place prize than the jackpot. Consider ponying up the extra dollar for powerplay to increase the lower tier prizes, in particular boosting the match 5 prize from $1 million to $2 million (that extra million should cover the taxes) leaving one a true millionaire.
Hope this helps. And good luck!