Powerball interest continues to grow


January 12, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

Buying a Powerball ticket now offers the chance to daydream about spending the largest lottery jackpot in the world – some $1.4 billion.

Ticket sales were brisk before Saturday’s $949.8 million drawing, and the interest has only grown since then in the 44 participating states, as well as the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Here’s what you need to know about the Powerball ahead of Wednesday’s drawing:

A RECORD JACKPOT

The jackpot for the twice-weekly game started at $40 million Nov. 4 and has been growing ever since. Gary Grief with the Texas Lottery, which is part of the Multi-State Lottery Association, said the $1.4 billion figure is definitely the world’s largest.

Officials increased the jackpot Monday from the initial estimate of $1.3 billion because of strong sales Sunday. The jackpot estimate is reviewed daily.

A DECIMAL DILEMMA

Some electronic billboards and signs at convenience stores are having trouble touting this jackpot because it is so big. The signs were designed with millions – not billions – in mind.

COVERING ALL POSSiBLE COMBINATIONS

Lottery officials say 75 percent of the 292.2 million number combinations were purchased ahead of Saturday’s drawing.

LUCK OF THE DRAW

Roughly 95 percent of Powerball tickets are computer-generated quick picks, so people’s favorite numbers aren’t really a factor. Officials don’t track which numbers are most popular because so many are randomly generated.

THE PAYOFF: HUGE, EVEN AFTER TAXES

A winner would have the option of being paid $1.4 billion through annual payments over 29 years or opting for one $868 million cash payment. But 39.6 percent of the lump sum would go to federal income taxes.

Plus, most states would take a chunk – something winners in Florida, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming wouldn’t have to worry about because those states have no income tax. California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Tennessee also generally exempt lottery winnings from taxes.