Community Corner

Powerball Jackpot Shoots to $320 Million in Maryland

The drawing for a chance to win the fourth largest Powerball jackpot since 1992 takes place tonight.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Here's your chance. The Powerball jackpot bumped up about $20 million today after anticipation built around the amount, according to a Maryland Lottery official.

Spokeswoman Erica Palmisano said as the jackpot exceeded $300 million this morning, people started buying tickets – causing the payout to shoot up to $320 million and making it the fourth largest Powerball jackpot since it began in 1992.

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“Clearly people are very excited about it,” Palmisano said. “We’re hoping Maryland has a winner.”

The odds for winning the pot are about 1 in 175 million, she said, and those odds don't change no matter how many people buy tickets. 

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A 58-year-old Fort Washington man won a $1 million second-tier Powerball prize in May, one of two second-tier winners in Maryland this year.

Since Maryland became one of 42 states to play Powerball in January 2010, the state has had two jackpot winners, one for $128 million and the other for $108 million, according to Palmisano.

The drawing airs Wednesday evening on the local NBC affiliate station at 11:22 p.m.

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