Two things are popular on this Cinco de Mayo — tequila shots and Powerball tickets. Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says the jackpot for tonight’s drawing has crept into record territory as there hasn’t been a winner since St. Patrick’s Day.
The 170-million-dollar jackpot is the 8th largest Powerball jackpot ever and also ranks as the 14th largest lottery jackpot ever in the world. Neubauer expect ticket sales to bound throughout the afternoon and evening.
Powerball ticket sales in Iowa may hit 12-hundred per minute today, which is fast, but in the past, ticket sales for larger jackpots have hit three-thousand a minute. Powerball is now played in 26 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Neubauer says two more states were recently added to the lineup — Tennessee and North Dakota.
The additional states do not effect a person’s chances of winning. The odds are unchanged — the chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are one-in-120-million. The biggest Powerball jackpot ever was won on Christmas Day 2002. The 314-point-nine million jackpot is the largest jackpot ever won by a single ticket. Tonight’s drawing is at 9:59 P.M.