The recurring phenomenon of Powerball Fever is back in Michigan and all across the nation thanks to what would potentially be the second largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history later tonight.
Jeff Holyfield, Director of Public Relations for the Michigan Lottery says with a jackpot of $700-million on the line, Michigan residents and visitors are snapping up the $2 tickets almost as fast as the machines can print them.
Coming into the noon hour today Michigan players alone had already purchased 2.8-million tickets for tonight’s Powerball drawing…and that includes more than 550,000 tickets purchased in the first five hours of the open market when tickets went on sale at 6am. Holyfield says, “That works out to about 100,000 tickets per hour, on average.”
The Powerball jackpot for tonight’s drawing remains at $700 million. It is the second largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The No. 1 jackpot was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won by three players on Jan. 13, 2016. That jackpot also holds the world record for the largest lottery jackpot.
If no one wins the jackpot tonight, the estimated Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing would be $1 billion. The cash value would be $633.3 million.
Players may purchase tickets for tonight’s drawing at retailers and online, at www.MichiganLottery.com, until 9:45 p.m.
For comparison, Michigan players bought nearly 3.5 million tickets for Saturday night’s drawing when the Powerball jackpot was $535 million. Holyfield says his team estimates that purchases for tonight’s drawing will exceed that and top 4 million before the deadline hits.
