Giant Powerball jackpot tonight sparks ticket sales rush

Saturday, August 15, 2009 posted 11:18 AM EDT

When it comes to the lottery, Floridians love big jackpots. Lottery officials say spending increases as the size of the prize grows.

The Powerball jackpot tonight is the second-largest prize for Florida players since the Sunshine State became the 31st state to join the game in January.

Tonight's prize is estimated at $213 million but is likely to grow before the drawing at 10:59 p.m.

Ticket sales soaring

Interest in Powerball peaks when the jackpot reaches $100 million, said Tim Waddle, whose Sanford business goes by both The Liquor Store and the Lucky Lotto Store. "The bigger it gets, the more people buy," he said.

"I had a little old lady that I don't ever remember seeing before knocking on my door before we opened Wednesday morning," he said.

She saw the store's name and wanted to play Powerball, he said. He told her he wasn't open yet, but then let her in anyway. "She bought five tickets."

No winners for a while

There have been 13 Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner. The estimated jackpot was $20 million for July 1, which generated more than $2.6 million in sales. As the jackpot has grown, so have sales, topping $6 million for Wednesday night's drawing.

Winners must beat steep odds

Players will have to spend a lot to top Florida's largest Powerball jackpot of $232.1 million on May 27.

That prize was won by a rancher in Winner, S.D.

To win the top jackpot, you need to pick the five "base" numbers -- those range from 1 to 59 -- and the Powerball, which is a number ranging from 1 to 39. The odds of winning Powerball's biggest prize: 1 in 195 million. No Florida ticket has ever won a Powerball jackpot.

There are eight other ways to win, and those are set prizes, including $3 for selecting the correct Powerball to $200,000 for picking the five base numbers. Tickets are $1.

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