No ticket purchased for the $500 million Powerball jackpot won on Wednesday night, according to Kansas Lottery officials. That means the jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is going up to an estimated $700 million.
It’s the highest in Powerball history and also the largest jackpot of any lottery game in U.S. history, Kansas Lottery officials said.
Saturday’s cash option will be $428.4 million, a spokesman for the Kansas Lottery said.
Total Kansas sales for last night’s Powerball drawing were nearly $2.8 million, roughly 10 times what would be typical for a Wednesday Powerball drawing with a much smaller jackpot. At the peak of the buying frenzy, which occurred from 5 to 6 p.m. yesterday, Kansas players were buying Powerball tickets at the rate of $5,315 per minute.
“This is an extraordinary Powerball run,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Terry Presta in a news release. “The excitement and fun continue to build. Good luck to all our players!”
Had the jackpot been won last night, the winner would have received $528.5 million annuity (cash option of $323.4 million). The winning numbers were 2-11-47-62-63 Powerball 17 Power Play 3.
Although no ticket purchased in Kansas won the jackpot, there were 54,469 winning tickets sold in Kansas for last night’s drawing. The holders of those tickets won more than $278,330. The prizes were $100 and less in Kansas. To see a list of prizes won, click on www.kslottery.com/NumbersLookup/PWBLPrizesPaid.aspx?DrawDt=20160106.
The odds of winning the $700 million jackpot are estimated at about 1 in 292 million, according to the Powerball website.
A spokesman said the Kansas Lottery encourages all players to play responsibly – it only takes one ticket to win. You must be 18 to purchase or claim a lottery ticket in Kansas, the spokesman said.