Powerball jackpot grows to $900 million
The record-breaking Powerball jackpot broke yet another record by Saturday noon.
The massive $800 million payoff ballooned again to reach $900 million as New Yorkers spent more than $1 million an hour on ticket sales. The very lucky ticket will be drawn at 10:59 p.m. tonight.
“At this level of sales, we will have thousands of winners in New York at various prize levels," Gardner Gurney, director of the New York Lottery, said in a statement.
At 11 a.m., $1.7 million in tickets were being sold hourly.
New York residents have spent $123.5 million on ticket sales since Wednesday.
Local residents shared their dreams for what they will do if they win the jackpot, with many saying that they would help family and friends pay bills, buy new homes and go on vacations.
The odds of having the winning Powerball ticket are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the game.
The $900 million jackpot will be the biggest-ever lottery prize in U.S. history. The previous record was a $656 million Mega Millions payout in 2012 handed over to three winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland. The $900 million figure is for an annuity paid out over 30 years.
The second place prize is $1 million for matching the first five numbers or $2 million for players who paid an extra dollar for the power play.
At Patel's Yonkers Grocery & Convenience Store on Yonkers Avenue, which has a history for selling winning tickets, tickets were selling at a good clip around 7 p.m.
Rohit Patel, an employee at the cash register that evening, said he has not only noticed an uptick in sales for Powerball, but people are coming from well beyond the neighborhood, such as the Bronx and Brooklyn.
“It’s a lucky place, that’s why people come here,” Patel said as he looked above the cash register where there hung more than a dozen small banners referencing winning lottery tickets sold there, including one for a winning $106-million Mega Millions quick pick ticket sold in September.
“I have many winners: $1 million, $5 million, $106 million, $3 million, and maybe tonight, $900 million!” Patel added.
Among those lining up to buy a Powerball ticket there was Shenell Evans, who brought her 10-year-old daughter, Mikelle, along with her.
Evans, who bought one ticket around 7:15 p.m. but admitted she had another at home, said she had never played Powerball before. But with a jackpot so big, she said she couldn’t resist.
“Everybody seems to be doing it,” Evans said. “It’s such a big jackpot … that I thought I would give it a try.”
Among Evans’ top things to do if she wins: Taking a sabbatical from her job as a psychologist, paying off debt, making sure her daughter Mikelle has a college fund and giving back to the community.
“And giving it to me,” Mikelle interrupted with a smile.
Staff-writer Michael D'Onofrio contributed to this story.