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Powerball jackpot balloons to sixth largest in history

<p>There's a new Powerball jackpot that has hopefuls once again lining up at their local convenience stores.</p><p>The top prize comes in at $400 million, which means the winner could rake in about $244 million in cold, hard cash. (Video via <a href="http://www.abc22now.com/news/top-stories/stories/Powerball-Jackpot-Hitting-Another-Record-High-247344.shtml" target="_blank">WKEF</a>)</p><p>The <a href="http://www.powerball.com/pb_history.asp" target="_blank">last person to win a record Powerball jackpot</a> <a href="http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/590-Million-Powerball-Winner-Comes-Forward-210259881.html" target="_blank">was nearly three years ago</a>, and the prize topped out at about $590 million.</p><p>There were a few lucky players who had their numbers picked in Saturday's drawing, except they missed that elusive red Powerball number, which means those winners walked away with $1 million to $2 million. (Video via <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/01/02/powerball-jackpot-swells-to-400-million/" target="_blank">KCAL</a>)</p><p>So if your New Year's resolution was to become filthy rich, here's your chance. The next drawing is Wednesday.</p><p>According to the Powerball website, the odds of snagging that top prize are about 1 in 292 million. So, uh, good luck? (Video via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK1MOxEYttQ" target="_blank">WXYZ</a>)</p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images. </i></p>
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The estimated jackpot for Wednesday night's Powerball drawing has soared to $450 million thanks to strong sales.

Multi-State Lottery Association officials on Tuesday increased the expected prize from $400 million because of fast sales for the largest lottery jackpot in nearly a year.

No one has won Powerball's biggest prize since Nov. 4. The jackpot now is the sixth-largest ever in North America, and if there is no winner after Wednesday night's drawing, the prize will keep climbing.

The biggest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions prize won in 2012. The last time Powerball had grown this large was in February 2015, when three winners split a $564.1 million prize.

Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.