Nobody picked all the winning numbers in Wednesday's Powerball drawing, which means the jackpot will be crossing the half-billion dollar threshold for Saturday.
The winning numbers Wednesday for the $490 million jackpot were 20-40-47-55-63 with the Powerball 05, according to the game's website. The Power Play was 3X. If someone had won, the lump sum payment would have been $355.1 million.
There was a $2 million winning ticket sold in Pennsylvania and $1 million tickets were each sold in Florida and Maryland.
The new jackpot for Saturday is $523 million with an estimated cash value of $379 million.
The Powerball website says game sales are usually stronger for a Saturday drawing versus a Wednesday drawing, which means the jackpot will be pushed higher on those days. The higher Powerball jackpot combined with a much-lower Mega Million drawing on Friday could drive the final amount even higher.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
On Tuesday, one Mega Millions sold in New York correctly had all six numbers for an estimated $432 million. If the winner chooses the cash option, it would be worth $315 million.
Powerball is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
