Powerball Jackpot Hits $600 Million for Saturday's Drawing

Want to try your luck at Powerball? You only need one $2 lottery ticket to play.

The Powerball jackpot was boosted to $600 million, or a $376.9 million cash prize for the Saturday, May 18, drawing after none of the tickets sold Wednesday matched the winning numbers.

The multi-state mega-lottery had rolled to a $475 million value after Wednesday's drawing, but increased by $75 million Thursday afternoon as a result of strong ticket sales, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery.

The $600 million jackpot is the largest jackpot in the game’s history. Previously, the largest was won last Nov. 28, 2012, when a $587.5 million jackpot was shared by two tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri.

Tickets for the next Powerball drawing will be available until 9:59 p.m. Saturday evening.  Your odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is one in 175.2 million. You're more likely to get struck by lightning (one in 700,000) or fatally attacked by a shark (one in 3.7 million).

But, hey, somebody has to win.

If you want to double your luck, lottery players are also excited about the May 17 Mega Millions drawing, with that game’s jackpot offering a $190 million annuity value or a $140.9 million cash prize.

Want to know where to play Powerball? Find a retailer here.

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