Powerball estimated jackpot surges to $400M (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixR7cwVtlKtwiaBAVhaJU-mHwhv0fWw4qhpMwt9bOMudhReL20Tlp1ejCt58wL4cE-7GTa1cjR-yCVQL03AaufUTimYlXVLeRrSeWN_-bteZZ4keqYqPqj9HHo6MmAJa06BxoR1kNEaqw/s1600/po.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixR7cwVtlKtwiaBAVhaJU-mHwhv0fWw4qhpMwt9bOMudhReL20Tlp1ejCt58wL4cE-7GTa1cjR-yCVQL03AaufUTimYlXVLeRrSeWN_-bteZZ4keqYqPqj9HHo6MmAJa06BxoR1kNEaqw/s1600/po.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16143" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Without a Powerball jackpot winner this weekend, the prize has climbed to $400 million.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16153" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Lottery officials said no one matched all six numbers for Saturday's $330.8 million drawing.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16169" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The next drawing — worth $400 million or $227.8 million in cash value — is Wednesday. The current jackpot began its ascent at the end of 2013.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16179" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Changes to the top lottery games have the jackpots reaching fantasy-inducing levels. In the case of Powerball, officials increased the ticket prices from $1 to $2 in January 2012, as well as raising starting jackpots to $40 million.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16189" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">More than half of the top 10 prizes in U.S. lottery history have occurred since 2012, according to statistics provided by the Multi-State Lottery Association.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16199" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history came in December, a $636 million Mega Millions prize. There were two winning tickets in that drawing, one in San Jose, Calif., and the other in Atlanta.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16283" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The odds of matching all six numbers in Powerball are 1 in about 175 million, according to statistics from the Multi-State Lottery Association in Iowa.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392529577478_16268" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</div>

Powerball estimated jackpot surges to $400M (BLOG)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Without a Powerball jackpot winner this weekend, the prize has climbed to $400 million. Lottery officials said no on...

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