Customer buys Powerball ticket in Tampa in November.(Photo Chris O'Meara AP)
Looking for a big payday Dueling Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are giving many in the USA two chances to strike it rich Friday and Saturday.
When you consider all the money that's going to be on the line in the next few days with lottery drawings it's just an eye popping amount says Mary Neubauer spokeswoman for Iowa Lottery.
The Powerball jackpot has soared to an estimated $475 million ahead of Saturday's drawing after no tickets matched the winning numbers of Wednesday's drawing. And rival Mega Millions' grand prize now at $190 million could climb higher ahead of Friday's drawing.
This is the point where people who don't normally play or maybe even aren't familiar with the lottery go out and buy a ticket says Andi Brancato director of public relations for the Michigan Lottery.
Sales are highest the day of the drawing and Brancato said to expect peak sales Friday as people stop to pick up a ticket on their way home from work and all day Saturday as people are out and about running errands.
Virginia expects to sell 4.7 million Powerball tickets on Saturday alone at a rate of 9 500 tickets per minute during peak times says John Hagerty Virginia Lottery spokesman.
California which started selling Powerball tickets at the beginning of April is expecting full blown lotto fever says Greg Parashak spokesman for the California Lottery. The state expects long lines ahead of both lottery drawings and is anticipating a lot of residents picking up both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets he added.
We've just been on this for a little over a month so it's pretty safe to say we expect record sales between now and Saturday Parashak said.
A single Powerball ticket costs $2 while a Mega Millions ticket costs $1. A jackpot of $475 million ranks as the second largest in Powerball history and third biggest overall.
Both lotteries hit new records in 2012 with a $587.5 million Powerball payout in November and a $656 million Mega Millions payout in March. The games are played in 43 states Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the top jackpot prize in either game is 1 in 175 million.
Even if you aren't lucky enough to win the top prize Friday or Saturday you could get another chance soon Large jackpots are increasingly more common.
Powerball was redesigned to have larger jackpots more often but it was also redesigned to create lots of millionaires and it's succeeding on both levels says Chuck Strutt executive director of the Multi State Lottery Association.
That redesign helped to increase the odds of winning any single prize and lowered the possible number combinations to win the Powerball.
Normally it would have taken a long time to get to $475 million Brancato said. (People) are interested in a big jackpot and a big number and when it can get to that number very fast the interest continues to grow.
Players should also check their tickets to see if they've won one of the lesser prizes which could be as high as $1 million or $2 million Strutt says.
Even if you don't win the jackpot you may have a winning ticket Brancato says.
Contributing The Associated Press
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