Powerball Jackpot Jumps Up Hits $564 Million At Drawing
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Powerball fever struck New York Wednesday.
The jackpot jumped from $485 million to $564 million by the time of the drawing late Wednesday.
The winning numbers are 11, 13, 25, 39, 54, and Powerball 19.
It is the fifth largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history and the third largest Powerball, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
The prize had been raised multiple times since Saturday's drawing and has been growing gradually from its $40 million starting point more than two months ago.
Experts Say Powerball Jackpot Could Surpass $500 Million By Tonight's Drawing
The odds of winning it all are 1 in 175 million, meaning you have better odds of getting struck by lightning or attacked by a shark than hitting all five numbers, plus the Powerball.
But as CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported, that did not stopping people from playing and thinking about what they'd do with all that money.
"For one, I would stop working," Bronx resident Isaac Cochrane said, adding that the first thing he'd buy with the money is a house for his family.
Experts Say Powerball Jackpot Could Surpass $500 Million By Tonight's Drawing
"I would share it with my family, not all of it," one woman told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane.
"If you don't have the money you don't get the honeys," Upper West Side resident Gary Lewis told CBS2's Murdock.
"I'd have a good time," Bob McCormack told Murdock. "I'd put new tires on the KIA."
Sales have been brisk at lottery retailers across the Tri-State area.
Powerball Jackpot Jumps Up To $500 Million
The manager of a 7-Eleven in Lyndhurst, New Jersey said he had more than 120 customers buy Powerball tickets between 11 p.m. and midnight Tuesday. He expects at least 1,000 customers will come to the store Wednesday for the sole purpose of buying a ticket, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
A lump sum payment would be $337-million before taxes. It's enough to warrant a trip to Manhattan Motorcars where a Bugatti goes for $3-million and a pair goes for $5-million.
Frank Pica said he sees a 'Ghost' in his future.
"This is money that takes you out of your work element and you don't have to do anything ever again," Pica said.
Powerball is played in 44 states, as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
