Powerball jackpot swells to $700 million for tonight’s drawing

The top prize carries a lump-sum option of an estimated $352.3 million, according to the multistate game operator.

The Powerball jackpot has grown to $700 million, with the next drawing set for Wednesday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Sales officials increased the jackpot Wednesday by about $15 million due to strong ticket sales. The top prize now carries a lump-sum option estimated at $352.3 million, the multistate game operator said. This grand prize would be the ninth-largest prize in Powerball history, it said. Monday’s drawing yielded no grand prize match of all six numbers, according to Powerball. Two tickets took home the $2 million Match 5+ Power Play Prize in Colorado and Georgia, and three got the $1 million Match 5 in California, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. The Powerball jackpot was last won on October 11, when a ticket in California won a $1.765 billion grand prize. The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 292,201,338, according to Powerball. Tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, the person who bought the winningest ticket in the nation’s other big-jackpot multistate lottery – Mega Millions – may never be known publicly.