2012 Press Releases
November 28, 2012
POWERBALL® JACKPOT INCREASES TO MORE THAN HALF A BILLION DOLLARS
The Delaware Lottery Urges Responsible Play Among Players
Dover, DE --The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) announced today that it has increased the POWERBALL® jackpot from $500 million to $550 million. If won, the cash option for Wednesday’s jackpot drawing is 360.2 million. The $550 million jackpot prize is currently the largest in the world, second largest in U.S. jackpot history and largest estimated annuity jackpot in the game’s history to date, according to MUSL officials.
The next drawing will be held tonight, Wednesday, November 28. Besides the jackpot, POWERBALL is expected to award nearly $70 million in cash prizes from Wednesday’s draw. The Delaware Lottery is emphasizing responsible play among its players and urges players to take budgets and personal affordability into consideration when jackpots grow to a substantial size.
“With big jackpots, of course there’s a greater potential for big winners,” said Delaware Lottery Director, Vernon Kirk. “While the Lottery hopes for another big jackpot winner here in our state, we want to emphasize that players should only play with what they can personally afford. As we’ve seen many times with our players, it only takes one ticket to win.”
The current jackpot run began October 04, 2012, after a Wilmington, Delaware couple claimed $33.05 million, the cash value of the $50 million estimated annuity POWERBALL jackpot drawn on October 03. The $50 million POWERBALL jackpot was just the first of two big prizes awarded at the Lottery in October, with the second being paid to the lucky winner of the $1.5 million top prize in the MegaHits™ progressive Video Lottery game at Delaware Park casino near Wilmington.
POWERBALL tickets sell for $2 per game and with the POWERPLAY® option POWERBALL costs $3 per game.
The POWERBALL winning numbers from Saturday’s non-winning jackpot drawing (Nov. 24) were 22,32,37,44,50, and the POWERBALL was 34. The previous record jackpot for POWERBALL was $365 million and won in 2006.
The Delaware Lottery joins other lotteries across the country in support of responsible play by emphasizing that the odds of winning a jackpot prize are 1-in-175 million and that players should play within their means.
About the Delaware Lottery:
Since the start of operations in 1975, the Delaware Lottery has contributed more than $4.1 billion to the state's General Fund to help finance needed state services that benefit everyone in Delaware. The Lottery offers a variety of games: POWERBALL®, MEGA MILLIONS®, HOT LOTTO®, MULTI-WIN LOTTO, DELAWARE CASH 5®, PLAY 3, PLAY 4, KENO®, iGaming and assorted Instant Games, Video Lottery, Sports Lottery and Table Games. Delaware Lottery game and promotional details are available at delottery.com, at licensed locations, and from the Lottery's office in Dover.
Winner Privacy is our Policy.
The Delaware Lottery only publishes winner names with their consent.
About POWERBALL®:
Powerball® drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:59 p.m. Central Time, 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time and 7:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information about Powerball® please visit www.powerball.com.
The 44 U.S. lotteries where Powerball® is available are: Arizona Lottery, Arkansas Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery & CGCB, Delaware State Lottery, Florida Lottery, Georgia Lottery Corporation, Hoosier Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Maine Lottery, Maryland Lott, Massachusetts Lottery, Michigan Lottery, Minnesota State Lottery, Missouri Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Jersey Lottery, New Mexico Lottery Authority, New York Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Ohio Lottery, Oklahoma Lottery, Oregon Lottery, Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Carolina Education Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery, Texas Lottery, U.S. Virgin Islands Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Virginia Lottery, Washington Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery and the West Virginia Lottery. Powerball® is owned by the Multi-State Lottery Association which is a government-benefit, non-profit association owned and operated by 33 member lotteries. MUSL currently coordinates six multi-state games in the United States.
Powerball® and Power Play® are registered trademarks of the Multi-State Lottery Association.
About IGT's MegaHits™:
IGT’s MegaHits™ wide area progressive (WAP) jackpot game is a multi-state link available through a partnership with the Multi-State Lottery Association, IGT and the lotteries in Delaware, West Virginia and Rhode Island. This interstate progressive's starting jackpot resets to $100,000.
MegaHits™ is a wide area progressive jackpot that includes smaller progressive awards that hit frequently. It is available as a penny or three-coin dollar game, which requires the maximum bet of $3 to be eligible to win the top prize. Game themes on the link include IGT's popular Emerald Sevens™, Triple Ruby Riches™, Reel Gold™ and Wild Sapphires™ and feature a local, four-level progressive plus the WAP top award.
