Powerball Jackpot Jumps to $675 Million – Will You Play?

There was no big winner in Wednesday’s Powerball lottery. That means the jackpot will increase to $675 million, making it the biggest jackpot in Powerball history.

Wednesday’s numbers were 2, 11, 47, 62 and 63, and the Powerball was 17.

Virginia Lotttery tickets said there were two $50,000 winners in Wednesday night’s drawing — one in Herndon (7-Eleven, 701 Van Buren St.) and one in Ashburn (Ashbrook Shell, 20065 Ashbrook Commons Plaza).

The next drawing is Saturday.

Powerball is played in 44 states, including Virginia, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. More than 191,000 tickets were sold in Virginia in advance of Wednesday’s drawing, Virginia Lottery officials said.

Your chances of winning? One in 292.2 million, according to lottery officials. That means you are more likely to get struck by lightning or bitten by a shark than win the lottery.

On average, the chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 3,000 during an average lifetime. And the chances of being bitten by a shark are less than 1 in 264.1 million.

Nonetheless, Virginia Lottery officials said they expect to sell about 2.7 million Powerball tickets in the Commonwealth on Saturday alone. At peak times on Saturday, Virginia Lottery expects to sell 5,400 Powerball tickets per minute across the commonwealth.