Wednesday’s jackpot for the Powerball lottery is the second largest it’s ever been. At 700 million dollars, the hopes are high for players. But Maine lottery officials are encouraging ‘responsible’ play.
With the prospect of such a large jackpot, it may be tempting to load up on tickets. But Michael Boardman, the director of the Lottery Division of the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operations, is urging players to avoid buyer’s remorse.
"Have a lot of fun with it," Boardman says. "Enjoy the game. But there’s no need to go out and spend a whole bunch of money on tickets. It only takes one ticket to win."
The odds of that ticket winning, says Boardman, is roughly one in 292 million.
The $700 million jackpot is the second highest in Powerball history. Last year, the jackpot reached more than double that, at nearly $1.6 billion.
