The largest jackpot in lottery history, a whopping USD 675 million, is up for grabs in the United States on Saturday, driving feverish excitement among lotto players dreaming of becoming millionaires.
The Powerball prize grew after no winner claimed yesterday's jackpot draw worth a half-billion dollars.
Each Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm (0359 GMT), the lottery company draws five white balls out of a drum containing 69 balls, and a red one out of a drum with 26.
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To win the jackpot, a ticket holder has to match all the numbers on the selected white and red balls. The winner can claim the prize in annual installments for 29 years or take a lump sum in cash.
Before federal taxes, the cash value of Saturday's prize would be USD 431.1 million, the lottery company said.
As Americans woke up to news that there had been no winner yesterday, USD 675 Million began trending on Twitter.
"I'm buying a lotto ticket for sure now, I need to win that money! 675 million for me I can see it now!" wrote Quandre Diggs, a third-year football cornerback from Angleton, Texas.
"Here's to hoping that our office lottery pools wins the Powerball Jackpot $675 million so we can all quit together," wrote Inga Klints from Chicago.
The previous jackpot record was $656 million in March 30, 2012, when three ticket holders from as many US states shared the winnings.
Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
