ALBUQUERQUE – With no jackpot-winning ticket from yesterday’s drawing, the jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball® drawing has climbed to $550 million.
At $550 million, this is the second-largest prize in the game’s history and the third-largest jackpot among lottery games worldwide. The jackpot’s cash option is $350.1 million.
Players have until 8 p.m. MT Saturday to buy tickets for the drawing at 8:59 p.m.
Rush for Tickets Generates More Money for Scholarships
According to the New Mexico Lottery, ticket sales began climbing after the jackpot rolled to $360 million for yesterday’s drawing. Between 5 a.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Wednesday, players bought nearly $1.4 million in Powerball tickets. By comparison, players bought $250,000 in tickets when the jackpot began its run at $40 million on March 31.
From those $1.4 million in sales, approximately $415,000 in revenue was generated for the state’s Legislative Lottery Scholarship program.
“People in every corner of New Mexico are talking about this jackpot and they’re making time in their busy schedules to make sure they have a ticket and a chance to win big,” said Tom Romero, New Mexico Lottery CEO. “And our players are making big winners of the students counting on Legislative Lottery Scholarships to help them pursue a college education.”
All profits from the sale of New Mexico Lottery games fund an in-state college tuition assistance program. Since 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $560 million for education and more than 82,600 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.
How to Play Powerball
Powerball is played in 45 lotteries. Players choose five numbers from 1 to 59 and one Powerball number from 1 to 35. Players can also ask for a “quick pick,” a set of numbers chosen randomly by the lottery’s gaming system. Each wager costs $2.
In addition to the jackpot, there are eight prize levels from $4 to $1 million. The game’s Power Play® option multiples non-jackpot prizes and will double the $1 million prize to $2 million automatically. Power Play costs an additional $1 per play per drawing.
Record Jackpots
The record Powerball jackpot is $587.5 million. It was shared by a man from Arizona and a husband and wife from Missouri in November 2012.
The world record jackpot of $656 million is from the Mega Millions® game from March 2012. It was shared by players in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.
New Mexico’s record Powerball jackpot is $206.9 million. It was won by a pool of nine players from the Roswell area in September 2008.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 175 million. The overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are approximately 1 in 32.
Follow the New Mexico Lottery on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nmlottery) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/NewMexicoLottery).