Millions of Americans anxiously checked their tickets for the winning combination of six numbers - 32, 16, 19, 57, 34 with a Powerball number of 13. "No Powerball jackpot winner," the Texas Lottery announced on Twitter hours after the numbers were drawn. The next drawing, expected to establish another record payout of a reported $1.3 billion, was slated for Wednesday. The grand prize for Powerball, played in 44 states, Washington, and two U.S. territories, has climbed steadily for weeks after repeated drawings produced no big winners. This week ticket purchases surged along with the size of the pot.
A Powerball lottery ticket is shown in this illustration photograph in Encinitas, California
The grand prize in Saturday's drawing was worth $558 million for a winner choosing an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, according to lottery officials in California, one of the participating states. The prize, which rises with every drawing in which the winning series of six numbers is not won, ranked as the largest jackpot for any lottery in North American history. With almost unimaginable riches at stake, many Americans who normally shun lotteries joined the long lines of people buying tickets at retail stores across the country.
Customers line up to purchase Powerball lottery tickets at Talbert's Ice & Beverage Service in Bethesda, Maryland
Dony Elias, 26, an attendant at Stardust Liquor in Los Angeles, said 300 customers picked up tickets for Powerball last night at his store. Elias admitted to buying a ticket for himself, something he said he had never done before. And like many other players, he has already given some thought to what he would do with the cash. "I would take a trip to the moon," he said. California normally sees Powerball sales of $1 million a day, but on Saturday morning sales were $2.8 million an hour, said California Lottery spokesman Mike Bond.
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