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Powerball jackpot rises to $450 million

Posted at 11:57 AM, Jan 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-05 12:06:27-05

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The estimated jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing has soared to $450 million thanks to strong sales.

Multi-State Lottery Association officials on Tuesday increased the expected prize from $400 million because of fast sales for the largest lottery jackpot in nearly a year.

No one has won Powerball’s biggest prize since Nov. 4. The jackpot now is the sixth-largest ever in North America, and if there is no winner after Wednesday night’s drawing, the prize will keep climbing.

The biggest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions prize won in 2012. The last time Powerball had grown this large was in February 2015, when three winners split a $564.1 million prize.

Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.