Powerball Prize Up To $1.5 Billion, Could Grow Before Wednesday's Drawing
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The largest lottery jackpot in the world is up for grabs in tonight's Powerball drawing.
The prize has climbed to an estimated $1.5 billion, easily surpassing all other lotteries. The cash option is $930 million.
The jackpot estimate is reviewed daily, so it could increase before Wednesday night's drawing if ticket sales continue to exceed expectations.
The jackpot for the twice-weekly game started at $40 million on Nov. 4. No one has matched all six Powerball numbers since then, so the prize kept growing.
Lottery officials expect at least 80 percent of the 292.2 million number combinations will be purchased before the drawing.
As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Michigan Lottery players had bought nearly 8.2 million tickets for the drawing.
The drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday and tickets, which cost $2 each, can be purchased until 9:45 p.m.
The previous record for a U.S. lottery jackpot was $656 million. That Mega Millions jackpot was won in March 2012 and split between three winning tickets (Kansas, Illinois and Maryland). The former record Powerball jackpot was $590.5 million, won in May 2013 by a Florida woman.
The biggest lottery prize in Michigan is a $337 million Powerball jackpot, won by a Lapeer man in August 2012.
Powerball is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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