Powerball Jackpot Climbs To $361M, Tenth Largest In Game's History
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Wednesday's Powerball jackpot has climbed to $361 million, the tenth largest jackpot in that game's history.
The jackpot amount has rolled over 20 times since the jackpot reset to $40 million for the May 11 contest.
The last time a Californian won the Powerball jackpot was back on January 13. Mae and Marvin Acosta purchased a ticket in Chino Hills that matched all six numbers. They shared the record $1.586 billion jackpot with winners in Tennessee and Florida. (The Acostas have elected to take the $327.8 million lump sum).
California Lottery officials said tonight's possible winner (if they are the sole winner) would have the option of taking the estimated $361 million jackpot spread over 30 years or the lump sum amount -- an estimated $250.3 million -- before federal taxes.
One Californian matched all six numbers in a 2014 game and won $425.3 million, seventh largest jackpot in Powerball history.
Meanwhile, California's own in-state jackpot game, SuperLotto Plus, stands $18 million for Wednesday. The cash option is $12.6 million. Friday night's Mega Millions jackpot is about $15 million.
Powerball, a $2 game, is played in 44 states (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Draw times are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:59 p.m. PDT. Ticket sales are suspended from 7:00 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. the day of the draw. Tickets can be purchased from any of the 22,000 California Lottery retailers or one of the more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky Retailers. Visit the California Lottery's Powerball site for more information.