Wednesday's Powerball jackpot is $260 million
Posted: 06.02.2010 at 9:35 AM

9th largest on record

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DENVER -- The $260 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs Wednesday is the ninth largest on record and the biggest since March 15, 2008, when eight tax office workers in West Virginia won a $275 million jackpot.

The $260 million jackpot is worth an estimated $134.2 million in cash.

Powerball sales in Colorado have totaled more than $10.5 million since the current jackpot run began on April 24. Sales for the last drawing were nearly $1.5 million alone.

Some other interesting Powerball facts:
•    The jackpot hasn’t been hit since April 21, 2010, when a Missouri retail clerk won a $258.5 million jackpot.
•    The $260 million Powerball jackpot is the fifth jackpot over $200 million this year.
•    The largest Powerball jackpot on record - $365 million – was won by eight meatpackers from Nebraska on Feb. 18, 2006.
•    Colorado’s only Powerball winner - the SEEP Financial Group - won $20 million in October, 2007.

Powerball is Colorado’s largest jackpot game. Jackpots start at $20 million and climb until someone wins. The game has been sold in Colorado since 2001.

Colorado's homegrown jackpot game, Lotto, is also on a roll. The game is offering a $7.1 million jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing. That prize is worth $3.5 million in cash. No one has won the Lotto jackpot since February 27, 2010, when a Denver resident took home a $6.7 million jackpot.

Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery’s games – Powerball, Lotto, Mega Millions, MatchPlay, Cash 5, and Scratch - stay in Colorado to improve the quality of life in the state. The Lottery has returned more than $2.2 billion to the state since it was established in 1983. Through Great Outdoors Colorado, the Conservation Trust Fund and Colorado State Parks, the Lottery has provided funding for new trails, precious open space and wildlife protection
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Information provided by Colorado Lottery.