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US Powerball lottery: Two tickets share $550m jackpot | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Two winning tickets were bought for a share of a $550m (£344m) US Powerball lottery jackpot, the second biggest prize in US history, organisers say. | |
The jackpot swelled after 16 consecutive draws had failed to produce a winning ticket. | |
No-one has yet come forward to claim the prize. | |
Tickets had been selling at a rate of 130,000 a minute nationwide, but the odds of scooping the top prize had been calculated at one in 175 million. | |
Statisticians calculated that a player had more chance of becoming US president, dying from a bee sting or getting struck by lightning than hitting the jackpot. | |
The numbers drawn late on Wednesday were 5, 23, 16, 22, 29 and 6. | |
'Join the hype' | 'Join the hype' |
The prize fund had apparently been boosted by late purchases by those who rarely play the lottery. | |
"I've been thinking about winning this money and what I'd do with it," first-time ticket buyer Pat Powell told the Associated Press in Atlanta, Georgia. | "I've been thinking about winning this money and what I'd do with it," first-time ticket buyer Pat Powell told the Associated Press in Atlanta, Georgia. |
"Let me just join the hype and just do it." | "Let me just join the hype and just do it." |
In New York, another player, Nelson Batista, told Reuters news agency that if he won: "Maybe I'd change my face and my whole body and I make myself more younger." | |
Forty-two US states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands participate in the Powerball lottery. | Forty-two US states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands participate in the Powerball lottery. |
Officials doubled the price of Powerball lottery tickets in January to $2. | |
Despite an initial drop in sales, revenue is reportedly about 35% higher than 2011 figures. | Despite an initial drop in sales, revenue is reportedly about 35% higher than 2011 figures. |