The $336 million Powerball jackpot won by a lucky Rhode Island lotto player on Saturday was the third largest in the lottery’s history, though it may soon seem like chump change if ticket sales continue to mushroom. Click below to read the rest of the story.
Lotto officials predict Powerball could soon produce jackpots between $500 million and $1 billion.
“Could we see even bigger numbers? Anything’s possible,” Rebecca Paul Hargrove, head of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which coordinates Powerball, told USA Today.
“When a jackpot hits $200 million, it becomes water cooler talk and the increase in play is dramatic.”
Terri La Fleur, publisher of the gaming journal La Fleur’s, said the formula was simple: big jackpots drive big ticket sales.
“We envision it can go over $500 million,” La Fleur told the newspaper.
The recent winner, who has not come forward, hit the jackpot on Saturday when officials at Powerball’s drawing studio in Tallahassee, Fla., pulled the winning combo of 1-10-37-52-57, with a Powerball of 11.
The winner purchased the ticket at a Stop & Shop supermarket in Newport.
If he or she chooses to take the winnings in cash, the after-tax payout will be $210 million, Powerball’s largest ever cash prize.
Had no one won, the jackpot would have jumped to a record $415 million.
MUSL coordinates Powerball in 42 states, Washington D.C. and the Virgin Islands.
Officials reported a frenzy of ticket sales in the 10 days leading up to the drawing after boosting ticket prices from $1 to $2 – which nearly doubled the jackpot.
The jackpot odds also dropped, to 1 in 176 million from 1 in 195 million.
The largets jackpot in U.S. history was a $390 million Mega Millions prize won in March 2007.
Gerry Aubin, the director of the Rhode Island Lottery, said he expects Saturday’s jackpot winner to come forward this week.
“Hopefully, they are seeking some financial and legal advice right now and changing their phone number,” he told USA Today.
This week’s Powerball draw is for $40 million.
