The Powerball jackpot has jumped up to $310 million. It is the fifth highest jackpot in Powerball history and the first time that the pot has grown larger than $300 million since February 11th, 2011.

There was no Powerball winner last night and no match 5 winners with the Power Play. There were five match five winners (from Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Nebraska) who each won $1 million each.

Saturday’s drawing for the $310 million jackpot will be worth $193.4 million if the winner chooses the cash option.

NJ.com reports that the current jackpot is the largest since 2007 when an Ohio man claimed $314.7 million. The last time someone won the Powerball was in December when a Pennsylvania couple took home a $128.8 million jackpot.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever won, according to Fox 19, was $365 million. The enormous prize was won by a group of meat packing plant workers in Nebraska back in 2006.

Powerball tickets recently doubled in price to $2. According to Arch Gleason, Kentucky Lottery’s President and CEO, this means that jackpots will get bigger faster and will be guaranteed $1 million for match five winners. Gleason said:

“Players have told us time and time again that they love playing for these big jackpots. We needed to make changes to the game as sales had declined and we hadn’t seen a solid jackpot run like this for awhile. By increasing the game’s price to $2, we made changes that provided better winning odds, a guaranteed $1 million cash second prize, and we hoped jackpots would grow faster. I believe this recent run has proven our point.”

Do you play the Powerball? Will you try to win the $310 million jackpot?

Powerball Jackpot Hits $310 Million is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lucky South Dakotan rancher Neal Wanless has won a $232.1 million dollar Powerball jackpot after buying a ticket in nearby Winner, SD.

Wanless wasn’t having the best run of luck prior to his win, having recently lost a mobile home to repossession. The 23-year-old rancher lived with his family on 320 acres of land in what is currently the seventh poorest county in all of the United States.

The Wanless family worked very hard to make ends meet raising sheep, cattle and horses and scavenging for scrap metal. Neighbor Dave Assman said:

“They’ve been real short on finances for a long time. ”They are from real meager means, I guess you’d say.”

Wanless spoke to press briefly about his win, smiling uncontrollably, thanking God, promising not to squander his newfound riches and wearing a big black cowboy hat. He also spoke of repaying “many times over” the community that had helped his family in the past.

Since his win, Wanless has continued ranching and has no plans to stop. Wanless said to AP reporters:

…he recently told his horse, Eleanor, that “It’d be nice if we go for a longer ride than usual on a bigger ranch of our own.”

Awww…

South Dakota rancher Neal Wanless claims $232.1m Powerball Jackpot is a post from: The Inquisitr