"Powerball lottery prize soars to $400 million" By: McKay Fugate

The Powerball jackpot rose to $400 million on Sunday, one of the largest prizes in the lottery's history. The jackpot soared by about $70 million after there were no winning tickets sold to claim a $330 million prize in a drawing on Saturday. The next drawing was scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the Powerball game. Over the past two years, Powerball prizes have nearly doubled in size after ticket prices rose to $2 from $1 and California, the nation's most populous state, joined the game. Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Chances of winning the big prize, regardless of how many tickets a typical player buys, are one in 175 million, the lottery said. In August, a Powerball ticket worth $448 million was shared by three winning tickets held by a man in Ham Lake, Minnesota, a man in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, and a group of 16 co-workers in Ocean County, New Jersey. In the biggest haul, a single Powerball winner took home $590 million before taxes after purchasing a winning ticket in Florida in May 2013. Average jackpots are about $255 million, according to the Powerball website.

I find lottery tickets to be a little stupid, but if they prize gets to such a high number as it is now, I say why not buy a ticket? I remember last year when the jackpot reached its all time high, and my parents, who never buy tickets, each bought one, just to see if luck would turn their way. I liked this article because it reminds us that we are fortunate to play games like a lottery in the U.S. We can afford to be hopeful about things like a $400 million jackpot.

http://news.yahoo.com/powerball-lottery-prize-soars-400-million-154006202--sector.html