Big sales volume prompts early jackpot increase
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 $485 million.
The all-important lump-sum cash value of the jackpot has been raised to $327.7 million — still the 5th-largest cash jackpot ever offered in a United States lottery.
Lottery players seeking to check the winning numbers Wednesday night are urged to use USA Mega (www.usamega.com). State lottery Web sites are normally brought to a standstill during busy periods, while USA Mega normally remains responsive.
Powerball drawing results will be posted immediately after the 10:59 pm drawing at USA Mega. The number of winners and new jackpot will be announced after all participating Powerball states have reported their data, which normally occurs within a couple of hours after the drawing.
Tickets will remain on sale typically until 10:45 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, although players should check with a lottery retailer in their state for the exact sales cutoff time. Players are advised not to wait until the last minute.
The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 175 million. The odds of winning any of the Powerball prizes are approximately 1 in 32.
Powerball tickets cost $2 each.
Lottery players can see an after-tax analysis of the current Powerball jackpot by visiting USA Mega's Jackpot Analysis page.
Powerball features nine different prize levels, ranging from $4 all the way up to the jackpot. Players can win even if they just match one number — the Powerball number.
All states except California also offer the Power Play option for an extra $1 per ticket purchased. The Power Play multiplies any non-jackpot prizes won by a fixed amount, depending on the prize level won.
Players who purchase the Power Play and win second prize will automatically have their prize increased by 2x to $2 million.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
$485 Million Woo Hoo
maybe one more roll, just one?.........if I dont win of course
When you use your imagination on these monster jackpots:
I get dizzy just looking at all those Benjamins but I will still not be buying an extra ticket however tempted I am.
I couldn't have put it better myself
Its always good when the cash value is running 67% of a jackpot this size....its all about the cash
I'm banking that at best it has one more roll in this Jackpot. But i also think we will have one more bump before tomorrow night. Jackpot ending somewhere around $510-$515million.
If no one wins tomorrow I wonder what the JP will be on Saturday the 14th...
05 11 16 26 50 / 01
If no one wins tomorrow, we potentially will have the largest U.S. Jackpot ever.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!
If I don't have a heart attack first from winning
$485 million might just be enough to start upping the size of my fast food combos.Would be surprised if it's still under $500 million by draw time.
Maybe extra guacamole on that burrito.
I'm guessing that even the MUSL people don't really have a good idea how big it will be. The biggest PB jackpot by cash value jumped $262 million from 325 to 587 for the annuity value. The advertised annuity value for current run went from 324.5 (final tally, originally advertised as 317) to 395.5, an increase of only $71 million. The cash value percentages are a bit different (65.5% then vs 67.6% now), but that's an 80% increase 27 months ago vs. a 22% increase now.
If this one tops out at 500 tomorrow and rolls an 80% increase would push it to $900 million (about 608 cash) the actual annuity increase of 262 would push it to $762 million. A 22% increase would only increase it to a relatively modest $610 million (a new PB record, though still shy of the MM record). Even in today's lottery market that has to be enough for a frenzy, but how big a frenzy?
someone will win this one tommorw thats for sure. i bought 6 dollars tickets, you dont nees to buy alot with so many ppl buying now.
It will break the 500m mark, last roll was 90.5m from 394.5m to 485m and it was changed twice in estimated values.
Lottery officials are challenged predicting jackpot size, but publicizing too accurate of an estimate early on can be counter-productive. I suspect the some of the jackpot revisions are intentional to drive sales. Seeing intermediate jackpot jumps gets people talking - this thread is a prime example.
Not surprised the jackpot jump was relatively small. $300 million annuity just doesn't excite players the way it once did. And doubling the price hasn't helped matters. Even $400ish million, while generating excitement, isn't a frenzy yet, though it's getting close. If it rolls Wednesday, then the frenzy will be on with $700+ million annuity to start, and likely rise to upwards of $900 million annuity, as you suggest. I'm not playing unless it rolls Wednesday, then I'll join the frenzy.
I think it was the " Pointer Sisters" that sang " I'm so excited, and l just can't hide it"
dont remember much else about the song but somewhere in there was " l know l want you, want you!"
whoo-hoo! so we need **12** winners so everyone has a chance to slip under the radar while still having enough to live... a-hem... comfortably.
YEAP..
I am ready to win the Powerball Wednesday !!
That's what second place is for, nobody pays any attention to them.
No mightwin-You have been away far too long. We thinking a dozen 1st place winners, and why the heck not!
Let's make it a FIRST- let's make History.
Single ticket winner !!!!
Nobody's thinking when their buying a lottery ticket is "I hope I get to split my winnings with a bunch of other people"....lol
Sez's Greater minds which are at work here. Having very few massive jackpots a year and only One winner?..screw that. Common sense dictates that people ought to be getting a return on their dream...meaning Winning.Yeah l said it, so there.Maybe not 12, but One-screw that...big time.
I run a lottery pool in my office that has a total of 11 members, if one of our tickets hits we can do that.
Again thats what second place is for......powerball has a ton of million dollar winners over the past few years, more than people realize
Exactly- everyone wants a Piece of the action. The idea that only one person has to win is NUTS. Try telling Pools they crazy..
This mentality " l want no one else to win" is greed!!
We might be getting enough in this jackpot that I could afford to by my way into the Playboy Mansion. One dream and two chicks....that's what big lotto wins are for!I would win on Wednesday and be broke by Friday lol
Nobody plays for 2nd place. You starting to sound like that Guy who says " Certain States have not won" mightwin.
There were 980 Match 5 winners (prizes of $1 million or $2 million). During the 1st 2 years since they made the change and thats plenty of winners if ya ask me
From the pic Looks like half a ton of hundred dollar bills...a big and scary responsability to keep that big SUM in your basement
if your one of the " greater minds which are at work here" then the forum is in sad shape
Exactly which is why when there is only one jackpot winner it makes the win that much sweeter
This mentality " l want no one else to win" is greed!!...........so what your saying is that you want multiple winners for the jackpot and if you happen to win the jackpot and nobody else than that would be totally alright? (Just because you had that multiple winner mentality going into it?)Would you share the prize with all the second place winners because they were the closest then? Just asking
You underestimate my love for Chick-fil-a, Whataburger, Raising Canes, Chicken Express, and a select few hole-in-the-wall burger joints. Fancy restaurants would be the last place on my mind, except maybe for sushi.
Its luck, NOT Greed. And its for that which is in need.
Its two dollars and a dream.
May we all dream well and be well in the process.
Eh, all I need is a million, the chance of winning the top prize is so remote I don't even think about it. I honestly would not want to win more than maybe $40 million, anything over that I suspect comes with serious problems. If you can't live a fabulous life off the interest of $10 million, then you have problems.
Ha ha, just had Raising Caine's last night, went to Chick fil A today and will probably be going to Whataburger tonight for some onion rings. I don't like Chicken Express though, although their corn nuggets are fantastic.
I don't know whether to educate you or not since you seem to dwell in the world of emoticons- however when l posted " greater minds at work HERE" it was not meant to be in this forum. It is a figure of speech in thinking outside the box.One directional thinking is dangerous. In times of disaster, those who end up sending aid do not say " well this village was hit the worst- lets forgot about the other spots and concentrate our energy only here"..That probably went over your head.No doubt.
MI like healthy discussions, and we have one going.You will agree with me that everyone who plays hopes to win, however we cannot discount pools as well, they too hope to win which means their share is a lot less than what a singular would get. Your take on sharing the prize with 2nd place winers is silly, why? Because they did not win the top prize. I stand by the statement " Only l want to win is greed ". It's no better than folks who will not play but encourage the jackpot to " grow" while they don't contribute a penny to its growth..
ME TOO! AND LET THE WHINERS WHINE!
And maybe I already went out & purchased an extra ticket!
I guess what l am saying is that there is enough in this jackpt to go around : meaning to more than one person..agree or disagree, makes no difference in the long run MW.
Chicken Express is right up there with the other two. Chicken Express with the tea, Chick-fil-a with the fries, and Raising Canes with the toast and sauce.
what happens when that winner is not you?
You keep playing for the next jackpot.
I certainly don't play for 1/12th the jackpot. I play for the WHOLE jackpot. If I split with others, so be it. That's the way it works.
If you wanted multiple jackpot winners, you should have supported Monopoly.
Everyone has an opinion. The reality is, anyone that walks to a lottery terminal for this type of huge JACKPOT does not have the thought, Im putting money down to win $10 or $40 millions. Notice the various forums LP has, for pick 3, pick 4, Jackpot, etc. The forums appeal to those with those interest. So the same for JACKPOT Lovers. we dream of winning a JACKPOT. THATS NOT GREED.
Those who have a false since of humility that want to judge other people, just buy a win for life scratch off. But Im all in for tomorrow's winning of $485,000,000.
No , l don't go along with your reasoning : For one -folks who join jackpot Pools would disagree with you.
Two: if you have played the lottery for decades, and have absolutely nothing to show for it, looking for more that one winner is not a bad idea. Expand your mind..
we agree to disagree....
That's perfectly alright- if we agreed on everything lottery related, it would be boring.
Peace.
Seriously?
I actually run an office pool with 19 members, and a smaller one with 5 members. We are playing for the jackpot, and we each buy tickets on the side looking to win the jackpot individually. I highly doubt someone buying a ticket for themselves is going to say, well I'll just split it with the other 18 members of the pool even though they had their own set of tickets.
The purpose of the pool is to, well, pool your money and buy more tickets so you can win the jackpot. Plus it's fun.
I don't know where you get the idea that people play these bigger jackpots hoping to split it with multiple people. Are you telling me that if you win the whole thing yourself, you will split it with all the 2nd place winners?
I thought not.
So, we'll agree to disagree. Your thinking is wrong headed.
Raising Caines is great chicken.
Im with you. I agree to disagree with those in the multiple winner circle. Im in the circle of, I put my money down in hopes of winning it all. If I win $1, $10 or even $485,000,000 or $0 Im fine with that. But Im swinging for fences.
Wow. Didn't mean to start something. I was simply saying that even if there were 11 other (12 total) winners, there would be WAY enough money for me to live happily. Now, would I be ecstatic should I be the sole winner? Of course. I figure I could somehow manage to force myself to take the entire amount. Lump Sum.
Not only would I be able to enjoy my favorite fast food drive through... I would be able to OWN my favorite fast food drive through, and have plenty of jobs for anyone who needed a temporary job whilst looking for something else. See? I could help out all my family members who will be looking for assistance.
I will play Mega Millions!
I won $100 once & I was elated!
And you?
By the way ........... George Bernard Shaw was an Evil Eugenist ............ just sayin'
Your first statement is correct. We all have an opinion. Those in lottery pools would disagree with you because they looking to " split" the money, I seriously doubt you would call them person's with a sense of false humility. Live and Let live.
l play MM a lot less, have won $5.00 here and there - have won more on PB than your $100.00- l was not elated because my wager was a lot higher than my win.
and you?
You discussing Two different scenarios here Pia- one where people are Pooling their money, and one where people are buying tickets on the side. If you are running a pool or in a pool as you say- you will have to agree with me that collectively ALL are hoping to Split the money. what's the mystery?
Where do you get the idea that l said people play these bigger jackpots are hoping to split?- l said l would like to see a split when it gets this high.
My oh My...
Fine, Igamble, then keep it in your guest bedroom.
I'm the oddball, I'm playing for 2nd place and I have been for 2yrs. I need 5 white balls in PB. The closest I came was matching 3 white.
Well i got another 5 tickets for Wednesday's drawing. Good Luck to everyone out there. (c8
I predict the annualized jackpot will grow to 520 Million or better by drawing time.
Also here in Texas the cut-off time for powerball tickets is 9PM Central time.
For shame people! Everyone knows a storage unit is the best place!
plus you get to be scrooge mcduck!
On a real note: I did google the " safest banks in usa" and "largest banks in us" and few over lap shocking as that may sound. (too big to fail anyone?)
Wells Fargo & Company
" The bank has an asset base of over $1.3 trillion. To prove how safe this bank is, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. berkshire owns close to $13 billion worth of the common stock)
JP Morgan Chase & Co ( *warning they are safe in hard money, they however got hacked recently losing customer personal data.....)
"It has a fortress like balance sheet, with about $2.3 trillion in assets, and CEO Jamie Dimon said the only risk to the bank’s failure is a collision of the earth and moon."
U.S. Bancorp
(.It is the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. )
all 3 use private banking departments as an exclusive option to serve the wealthy clients, You don't deal with some people they just hired off the streets to serve there everyday folk with. O no hell, only the very best employees deal with there rich clients!
all 3 should be safe to have hundreds of millions in to you moved the money over towards investments and whatever else you wanted.
Mostly to pis* off anyone that says $327 million is too much for one person to win.
Someone lays down their money, they deserve to win the whole enchilada if their numbers are drawn.
I would enjoy getting that single sweet near $200 Million after all taxes. Lump sum is the way to go if you win, you can easily invest better than <5% per year gains the PB annuity offers.
Two more nights to dream then back to reality. Cheap entertainment at it's finest.
With the way the annuity is back end loaded, the true annualized return is less than 2%. I was shown the spreadsheet comparing that to returns of 3,4 and 5% and was left with absolutely no doubt that I would choose the lump sum.
It will be $510M come draw time and I'm gonna be the winner.
It would be quite entertaining here at LP if there were multiple winners who had played the numbers from Lost and the jackpot was split who knows how many ways between CA, NY, NJ, and FL.
straight CT- Knowing how difficult it is to win, l merely made the suggestion of a three way split etc..and you would think l stepped all over some people's ancestor's graves. l am reminded of what l read two weeks ago...
Your chance of winning the lottery on a single ticket is one in 175 million. That seems tiny, and it is. In fact, it is so small that it is difficult for us to grasp. Understanding how small this number is provides the key to understanding how likely -- or unlikely -- it is you will become the next big winner of the Powerball jackpot.
For some reason, we tend to associate unlikely events with a specific physical phenomenon. "I have a better chance of being struck by lightning," we often say. But that does not provide much of a basis for comparison. We realize being struck by lightning is unlikely, but we have no sense of how unlikely, and of course the chance of being struck by lightning is much different for a farmer than a coal miner.
The problem with grasping the smallness of "1 in 175 million" is that we never see 175 million distinct objects. It is easy to grasp 1 in 50, for example, because we can imagine ourselves with 49 other people in a room. We can get our minds around 1 in 75,000 (roughly) by visualizing the crowd of people at the Super Bowl and imagining ourselves being the one person selected from that crowd to win a prize. But one in 175 million cannot be readily visualized.- Ronald Wasserstein.
We can try- but don't Bank of winning it..
Stephen Hawkins will have to solve "the theory of everything before anyone can figure out a theory of how to pick the right combination of numbers in order to win the powerball lottery. Like the universe, the lottery has too many unpredictable's. You don't have to be Einstein to realize that all you need is luck.
True. A few months ago we had a pedophile from Florida win millions. its just plain luck..Nothing else.Either you have it or you don't. Just Ask " cut in line" Gloria.
In fact if you did a Google search and wrote in " Cut in line Gloria".. you end up right where you want to be.
Albeit one day later, winning the Powerball Jackpot tonight would be the greatest birthday gift ever!
Half a Billion is a nice whole number...sorta has a nice ring to it...might even splurge and take the Mrs shoppin' at JC Penny's jewellery dept.
Seriously, if you are only playing the Powerball to win the 2nd place of a million dollars don't you think you would do better playing your state lottery with better odds?
Wed. 2/11/15
NJ Lottery website has the date wrong for today's Power Ball drawing.
At present time they have the date as Wed 2/10/15 when it should be 2/11/15.
Small detail but hope they don't make errors on the posting of the actual winning numbers.
Good Luck LP
At first glance it would seem so. But in Texas the Texas Lotto has odds of 1 in 25,827,365. PB odds for second prize are 1 in 5,153,633.
I play for the jackpot, but would be real happy with second prize.
The odds for my state game is 1 in 130000 (ohio classic). My odds with 2nd place PB is better. Also, there are at least 10 to 20 new 2nd place weekly millionaires (powerplay or not) and it seems like there's hardly a winner with classic.
I wonder who will win where...That is the question.
Hopefully a fellow LP member.
$200 million cash in the bank after taxes sounds much better than a fictitious $500 million.
It has now hit the half a Billion Mark! New jackpot amount $500,000,000!
IT JUST ROLLED TO 500 MILLION
1 ticket
1 winner
Yepperiedoggie!
Holy catnip !!!! thats a lot of cheezburgers !!!!
picture of me after I win tonight
One more roll and we'll be in Frenzy Mode. Hearsetax you'll have to survive on canned tuna a few more days.
Only thing missing is a big ol grin.
but We are most definitely in the BIG MONEY ZONE