UPDATE: Lottery officials say the Powerball jackpot has now climbed to $800 million for Saturday's drawing.
The jackpot for the multi-state lottery game known as Powerball has reached a level never seen before: $700 million. No tickets matched all the winning numbers in the drawing held last (WED) night, pushing the jackpot to a new record this weekend. The cash option for the jackpot is estimated to reach nearly $430 million for Saturday night's drawing. It's the largest jackpot in Powerball history and the largest jackpot of any lottery game in U.S. history. Total Kansas sales for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing were nearly $2.8 million. That's approximately 10 times what would be typical for a Wednesday Powerball drawing with a much smaller jackpot. Had the jackpot been won Wednesday night, the winner would have received a $528.5 million annuity (or a cash option of $323.4 million). The winning numbers were 2-11-47-62-63 Powerball 17 Power Play 3. Powerball tickets cost $2 each.
