Powerball Jackpot Hits Record High $600 Million
BOSTON (CBS) – The jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing is now an estimated $600 million.
That's now the largest Powerball jackpot in history and the second largest lottery prize ever.
There was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot last year.
The previous Powerball record was $587.5 million on November 28, 2012.
If someone's ticket matches all six numbers Saturday, they could either take the full amount in 30 annual payments or a one-time cash option of about $376.9 million before taxes.
"As of 12:30 p.m., Powerball tickets in Massachusetts were selling at a rate of approximately $6,000 per minute and today have already exceeded $1.2 million in sales statewide. It is expected that Massachusetts Lottery retailers will be selling as much as $24,000 in Powerball tickets a minute during peak hours leading up to Saturday night's drawing, " Beth Bresnahan of the Massachusetts State Lottery said in a statement Friday.
One ticket costs $2. You can buy them up until 9:45 p.m. Saturday. The drawing is at 10:59 p.m.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 175 million.
