Tonight’s Powerball jackpot is already projected to be the largest in the 21-year history of the game at 600-million-dollars. Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says they urge you to play responsibly.
“We always remind people to play with your head, not over your head, We don’t want to see people playing beyond their means at a time like this or any time,” Neubauer says. “And the good news is that even when the Powerball jackpot was at its record amount back in November — it was 587-million dollars then — but event at that time, the average purchase that we saw being made here in Iowa was still just six dollars. That’s just three plays.”
That record jackpot was split between two tickets in Arizona an Missouri. Neubauer says take some precautions if you go in with someone else to buy tickets.
“When the jackpot reaches this amount, we see a lots of people starting to play in pools, whether it’s at the office or maybe a bunch of neighbors are getting together or maybe you and your family are all buying tickets together. On the lottery website at www.iowaottery.com, we keep some reminders on there as a permanent feature of the page of what to do when you are playing in a group,” Neubauer says.
She says taking the steps ahead of time could prevent legal hassles later. “Keep careful track of everyone who has put money into the pool. Maybe give copies of the pool tickets to everyone who is in the group beforehand. That way you just help eliminate questions later,” according to Neubauer.
The next Powerball drawing is at 9:59 tonight. In Iowa, you can buy a ticket for the drawing up until 8:59 p.m.