By Dari Kotzker
NJ Today
The Powerball jumped to a new record today to $550 million, with a cash option of approximately $360 million. The state is another winner when the jackpot gets this high.
“This is wonderful, all these increases in sales means more revenue for our retailers, more prizes for the state, this is fantastic news,” said Carole Hedinger, New Jersey Lottery’s executive director. “The impact in New Jersey is tremendous, we sold in New Jersey alone $60 million in sales, and $30 million in state revenue, we’ll have over $3 million in retailer commission and the sales are accelerating.”
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The jackpot has rolled over 15 times and tonight will be the sixteenth drawing during the run. Coming in second results in $1 million. There have been three of those throughout the run.
The odds of winning are 1 in 175 million, but there’s no shortage of players. “I’ve bought some before, my husband have some, I have a couple dollars left and figured why not put it toward a potential win,” said Teresa Kelly of Buena Vista.