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5 things to know about the Powerball jackpot

 
The $400 million Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing tops the list of lottery payouts in this convenience store in the Minneapolis skyway system.
The $400 million Powerball jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing tops the list of lottery payouts in this convenience store in the Minneapolis skyway system.
Published Feb. 20, 2014

1 Historic jackpot: The estimated $400 million jackpot is the sixth-largest in U.S. lottery history.

2 Rolling, rolling, rolling: Each drawing without a winner rolls the jackpot over and makes it more lucrative. The current jackpot began its ascent at the end of 2013.

3 If you win: Hold off on that beachfront mansion. Financial experts agree you should forego large vanity purchases. Instead, set up annuities and long-term trusts for descendants.

4 Losers can win, too: You don't have the main Powerball number on your ticket? Match those other five numbers and you could win a $1 million secondary prize or a $2 million secondary "Power Play" prize.

5 Don't expect to win: Odds of winning it all are about 1-in-175 million. Officials over the years have noticed the trend that the larger the jackpot, the more interest in the top prize and a surge in players.

Associated Press