Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is now at an estimated $400 million, the fifth-largest jackpot ever, and it's expected to continue to climb throughout the day.
NBC 5’s Kevin Cokely stopped by Chuck’s Grocery in Arlington, which sells more lottery tickets than any other place in Tarrant County, and found one man who wouldn’t buy his tickets anywhere else.
"Today's the day. Today's the day. Why not? Somebody has to win it. It might as well be me. Catch the first jet, rent the first jet and start traveling aroudn the world," said Dave Hale, who drove to Chuck's from Frisco.
Hale is mostly right. It might as well be him, but somebody doesn't have to win. Wednesday's jackpot began on Aug. 10 as a $40 million prize and, because no one has won it in the last 11 drawings, it's grown to 10 times that amount.
The last jackpot, won on Aug. 8, was a $448 million prize split by three people outside of Texas and swelled to nearly half a billion dollars after 12 drawings without a winner. Before that, on May 18, the Powerball jackpot reached a record $600 million after several weeks without a winner.
Maybe it's more accurate to say, someone will win -- eventually. And just maybe that person will be in Texas.
Eleven days after the record-setting jackpot was won, winning Powerball tickets were sold in Bells and Murphy, giving Texas its first-ever Powerball jackpot winners.
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The holder of the Bells ticket won about $25 million on a cash-value option quick pick ticket for the $40 million jackpot. The Murphy ticket holder took home about $1 million from the drawing after matching five of five numbers but not the Powerball. Since that time, there have been no other Texas Powerball players winning the jackpot.
The current jackpot is the current largest jackpot available with MegaMillions at $145 million and Lotto Texas at $11.5 million. Drawings for Powerball and Lotto Texas are Wednesday night while MegaMillions will next be drawn on Friday.
Not that familiar with Powerball but considering throwing down $2 for a chance at $400 million? Powerball is played in 43 states plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Odds of winning the jackpot prize are one in 175,223,510, and overall odds of winning any prize are one in 32. Want to know more? Read this.
NBC 5's Kevin Cokely contributed to this report.
