The sixth largest jackpot in U.S. history is on the line with tonight’s Powerball lottery drawing.
Officials with the multistate lottery game estimate the jackpot at $400 million, to be paid out over 20 years; the lump-sum cash option for the draw is an estimated $227.8 million before taxes.
Nevada does not have a state-run lottery, but residents from the Las Vegas Valley traditionally make their way to neighboring California and Arizona lottery ticket outlets when jackpots escalate to record levels.
Mike Bond, a spokesman with the California Lottery, said the Primm Valley Lotto sales outlet just across the Nevada state line «is far and away the busiest California Lottery retail location in the state.»»
«They do twice as much business, in terms of sales volume, as our second-busiest retailer (Gold Ranch Casino) on the California-Nevada line in Floriston (close to Reno), Bond said.
According to California Lottery officials, tonight’s Powerball jackpot is the largest since Sept. 18, 2013, when an anonymous winner in South Carolina claimed a $399.4 million jackpot. The largest Powerball jackpot of all time was $590.5 million in May 2013.
The Powerball jackpot was last hit was on Christmas day, December 25, 2013. The winning ticket was sold in Missouri and was worth $71.5 million. The jackpot has been steadily climbing since that win.
California joined Powerball in April 2013. Since then, one jackpot winning ticket has been sold in the Golden State, according to California Lottery officials. Carlo “Carl” Mitchell, who purchased his ticket in Fresno, won $213.4 million on Oct. 23.
Tonight’s drawing is scheduled for 7:59 p.m PST; ticket sales for the drawing end at 7 p.m.
Should no tickets match the winning numbers tonight, Powerball officials say the jackpot for Saturday’s drawing will be an estimated $500 million.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 175 million. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 55.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/feb/19/powerball-lottery-jackpot-rises-400-million/
