Powerball jackpot sprints past $300M

ATLANTA, Georgia -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Powerball jackpot is accelerating and the excitement is spreading across Georgia. Wednesday’s jackpot is at $305 million after no one matched all the winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing.

Four Georgia Lottery players each won $10,000 in Saturday’s drawing. The lucky tickets were purchased in Austell, Lithia Springs, Roswell and Snellville.

The Powerball jackpot has been growing since June 27 and has rolled 14 times.

Powerball offers two payment options: the $305 million jackpot prize paid over 29 years in 30 graduated payments, or the cash option, which is approximately $203 million.

Powerball tickets are $2 per play.

As with all other Georgia Lottery games, proceeds from Powerball will benefit education in the state of Georgia.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $13.6 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.4 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

POWERBALL FAST FACTS
Draw Date: August 15, 2012
Estimated Jackpot Amount: $305 million
Annuity Amount: Jackpot prize paid over 29 years in 30 graduated payments
Cash Option Amount: Approximately $203 million
Cost to Play: $2 per play; an additional $1 per play to add the Power Play multiplier
Drawings: 11 p.m. (ET) every Wednesday and Saturday
Overall Odds of Winning Any Prize: Approximately 1:32
Odds of Winning Jackpot Prize: Approximately 1:175 million
Date Jackpot Began Rolling: June 27, 2012
Number of Rolls: 14
Last Winning Jackpot Ticket: June 23, 2012 – $60 million jackpot (Connecticut winner)

1. 1 Powerball Jackpot: Feb. 18, 2006 – $365 million jackpot (Nebraska winner)