The winner can choose to be paid the full jackpot in annual instalments over 29 years - or take a one-off cash payment of $930 million - before taxes. Through last Saturday about $1.75 billion in Powerball tickets have been bought since the last jackpot win on November 4, Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery and chair of the Powerball game group, told AFP.
At the last draw on Saturday, 25 people matched the first five numbers - winning $1 million each - and three others had paid a bonus netting them $2 million each but no one claimed the then $950 million jackpot. Grief said sales were record breaking and could not rule out that the jackpot would again rise before Wednesday''s draw. "Sales are doing exponentially more than we''ve ever done before," he said, adding that they were more than double what they were before the last record US jackpot of $656 million in March 2012 - won by ticket holders.