Mr. Lucky

Powerball jackpot soars past $200 million

Posted: 27 Oct 2011 08:04 AM PDT

We’ve reached the magic number: $200 million.

That seems to be the figure that entices folks who don’t regularly play Powerball to try their luck.

The estimated jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing is $203 million. That is based on taking payments over 30 years. The estimated lump-sum payment is $123.2 million.

It is the fourth time this year the jackpot has topped $200 million and the seventh time since Florida joined the multi-state game in January 2009.

The largest jackpot Floridians have had a chance to win was when it reached $259.9 million on Aug. 19, 2009.

The largest jackpot in Powerball history was $365 million won by a group of ConAgra food workers in Nebraska on Feb. 18, 2006.

Powerball is played in 31 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While the Powerball jackpot gets all the attention attention, the Florida Lottery’s Lotto jackpot is a guaranteed $21 million, currently the highest of any state lottery.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 195 million. The odds of winning the Florida Lotto are about 1 in 22 million.