The multistate Powerball lottery jackpot reached the half-billion dollar mark after rolling over for nearly three months into Wednesday night's drawing, the Powerball website showed.
The estimated $500 million jackpot was the third-largest in the game's history and one of the largest lottery jackpots ever in the United States.
Gamblers could select an estimated lump-sum cash payout of $337.8 million if they match all six numbers correctly or opt to take annuity payments over 29 years, before taxes.
The last winner, a Washington woman, told lottery officials she purchased the winning $90 million ticket on Thanksgiving Day and had never bought a Powerball ticket before.
Jackpots start at $40 million and grow until at least one player comes up with the winning numbers. Drawings are made on Wednesday and Saturday nights and tickets cost $2 each. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 175 million.
The biggest Powerball jackpot awarded by the Multi-State Lottery Association was $590.5 million in May 2013 to the holder of a single winning ticket. The association's Mega Millions lottery awarded a top prize of $656 million three years ago.
Powerball tickets are sold in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The drawing is at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time and most participating states sell tickets until an hour before the drawing.
