TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Seven. Hundred. Million. Dollars. That's the estimated value of Wednesday's Powerball jackpot drawing.
"This is the second largest jackpot," says Randy Fox, the Tallahassee District Manager for the Florida Lottery. "This was from a series of 20 rollovers that we have had, now 700 million. Of course, we had back in January 2016 $1.586 billion jackpot, which was a world record."
And buying a ticket is as easy as picking 6 numbers from a play card. As the jackpot increases, so do the amount of tickets being sold, which is good for the local stores.
Fox Explains, "Of course, the money, we have to pay the prizes, we have to take care of the retailers with their commissions, but it's great for Florida's economy overall."
Even though some are choosing to buy their own tickets, others are teaming up at the office, pooling their money for tickets and buying dozens at a time.
Joketra Hall is one of many in her office who decided to go in together. "Someone walked by my office and they said '700 million.' I said, 'Hey, let's get together and let's increase our chances.'"
If Hall bought the winning ticket, she already has plans for the money. "I would pay my ties, and then I would probably travel and I want to do a little mission work. That's what I would do with it," says Hall.
Once you purchase your ticket, it's recommended that you sign it immediately. This helps protect the ticket if it's a winner, but gets lost.
Each lottery ticket sold helps fund education and kindergarten to twelfth grade, as well as finding the "Bright Futures" scholarships, which allow for students to continue their education. In fact, this series of rollovers has produces over $46 million for Florida education.
The Powerball drawing is held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 11 pm on WTXL ABC 27.
