Powerball jackpot climbs to $400 million

The Powerball lottery jackpot climbed to $400 million after nobody picked the winning numbers in Saturday’s draw.

Dreamers hoping to strike it rich quick plunked down $2 a ticket hoping to win the previous jackpot estimated to be at $300 million – but in vain.

The winning numbers for Saturday’s drawing were 21, 24, 36, 42, and 45, with the Powerball 15.

The jackpot was well below the eye-popping record of $590.5 million, won in May by an 84-year-old Florida widow.

But it was big enough to attract casual players who only buy tickets when they think the payoff is big and potentially life-changing.

The odds of matching all six numbers are 1 in 175,200,000.

Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington DC, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When it comes to choosing the winning combination of six numbers, some players use birthdates of family members, but nearly 80 per cent let the computer randomly pick the digits, according to ABC News.

That is the strategy that Gloria Mackenzie, 84, of Zephyrhills, Florida, used back in May, taking home close to $600 million – the largest prize for a sole winner in the history of U.S. lottery.

“While in line at Publix another lottery player was kind enough to let me go ahead of them in line to purchase the winning Quick Pick ticket,” she said in a statement, according to Florida lottery officials.

Of all the states that participate in the Powerball lottery, Indiana is the leader in the number of winners, coming in at 38, followed by Pennsylvania, Missouri, Minnesota and Kentucky.

If Wednesday’s jackpot doesn’t top $400 million, a single winner choosing the cash option would collect $230.3 million before taxes.

The last time that someone won the Powerball jackpot was June 22, Newsday reported. The lucky ticket was sold in Pennsylvania, earning its holder a prize of $131 million.

The largest jackpot in U.S. history stands at $656 million. It was won in March 2012 by participants in the Mega Millions lottery from Maryland, Kansas and Illinois.