The Powerball jackpot has climbed up to $360 million.
The next drawing is on Wednesday night and lottery officials said that the jackpot could increase a little more before the winning numbers are drawn.
The NY Daily News notes that the $360 million Powerball jackpot is just $5 million shy of the second highest jackpot in Powerball history. If no one wins on Wednesday night, the jackpot could have a shot of topping the largest Powerball jackpot in the game’s history at $587.5 million .
Lottery officials increased the price of tickets from $1 to $2 last year and the change has had a huge effect on the game. Jackpots are growing faster and larger than ever before. Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, also points to the “cross-selling” of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets as a reason why jackpots have gotten so big.
Neubauer told the Washington Post : “It usually took a handful of months, if not several months, for a jackpot to reach this large amount … Now it’s achieving that within a handful of weeks. I think the redesign is achieving exactly what we had wanted it to achieve, which is the bigger, faster-growing jackpot.”
The last major jackpot was won on March 23 by a man in New Jersey. The jackpot, worth $338.3 million, is considered the fourth largest in Powerball history.
Are you buying a ticket for the Powerball Jackpot this week?
