Powerball Jackpot Jumps To $700M
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Lottery fever is heating up chilly Southern California, as the multi-state Powerball jackpot surged Thursday to $700 million, which would be largest in U.S. history.
No tickets sold across the 44 states where Powerball is played matched the numbers drawn Wednesday night, which were 02-11-47-62-63, with the Powerball number of 17 and Power Play number of 3. Wednesday's estimated jackpot was $500 million, and as of Thursday, the jackpot jumped to $700 million, California Lottery officials said.
Saturday's jackpot will represent the largest single jackpot of any game to date, lottery officials said. The largest jackpot to date was a $656 million Mega Millions drawn on March 30, 2012. That jackpot was split between winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland.
The largest previous Powerball jackpot was $564.1 million. Three tickets matched the Feb. 11 draw – one purchased in North Carolina, one in Texas and the third in Puerto Rico.
Powerball tickets cost $2 and must be purchased before 7 p.m. the day of the draw.