Powerball's estimated total soars to $400M after no jackpot winner in Saturday's drawing

2/16/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The current estimated jackpot for Wednesday's drawing's jackpot is estimated at $400 million or $227.8 million in cash value.
The current estimated jackpot for Wednesday's drawing's jackpot is estimated at $400 million or $227.8 million in cash value.

DES MOINES — Without a Powerball jackpot winner this weekend, the prize has climbed to $400 million.

Lottery officials said no one matched all six numbers for Saturday’s $330.8 million drawing.

The next drawing — worth $400 million or $227.8 million in cash value — is Wednesday. The current jackpot began its ascent at the end of 2013.

Changes to the top lottery games have the jackpots reaching fantasy-inducing levels. In the case of Powerball, officials increased the ticket prices from $1 to $2 in January 2012, as well as raising starting jackpots to $40 million.

More than half of the top 10 prizes in U.S. lottery history have occurred since 2012, according to statistics provided by the Multi-State Lottery Association.

The second-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history came in December, a $636 million Mega Millions prize. There were two winning tickets in that drawing, one in San Jose, Calif., and the other in Atlanta.

The odds of matching all six numbers in Powerball are 1 in about 175 million, according to statistics from the Multi-State Lottery Association in Iowa.

Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.