Powerball jackpot grows to $550M, among top 10 in the game’s history

PHOENIX – On the first day of spring, one of the biggest Powerball jackpots of all time is blooming.

“It’s up to $550 million. That’s a $335 million cash value option for tonight’s drawing,” John Gilliland, Arizona Lottery spokesman, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.

If there’s a winner, it would be the eighth-highest Powerball jackpot ever and the 11th-biggest in U.S. history for any lottery when including Mega Millions, Gilliland said.

Powerball tickets are available for $2 each at Arizona Lottery retailers, and drawings are held Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Gilliland said Arizonans have until 6:59 p.m. to enter Wednesday’s drawing.

“There’s a lot of money to be won here, and this is how record runs start,” he said.

The multistate Powerball jackpot would need to continue growing to reach the all-time record of $1.58 billion set in January 2016 and split by three winners.

A Mega Millions drawing in October 2018 fell short of that mark at $1.53 billion, but it did set the record for the largest single winner.

Arizona’s The Pick lottery also has a hefty jackpot of $9.6 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

“There are other games to play, and there’s a lot of prize money, a lot of fun to be had for all of Arizona lottery players,” Gilliland said.

The money brought in from lottery ticket sales helps fund more than a dozen state programs, he added.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Madison Spence contributed to this report.

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