The winning numbers for the $550 million Powerball jackpot for Wednesday, Nov. 28 are: 5, 23, 16, 22, 29 and the red Powerball is: 6
5 23 16 22 29 6
The Powerball jackpot climbed to more than $550 million dollars for tonight's drawing.
Long lines formed as people around the country queued up to buy tickets before the deadline at 9pm EST. Even people who don't usually play the lottery were wooed by the chance to win more than a half billion dollars in one go.
There is no limit to the number of tickets a singe person can buy, so many people, especially habitual lottery hounds, were buying dozens, or even hundreds of tickets.
In Florida alone, more than $10 million worth of tickets were sold. Tickets are two dollars apiece, up from a single dollar last year, but the odds are slightly better, with the number of red "Powerball" options reduced to 35 from 39.
Ticket buyers must guess six numbers correctly, so a smaller pool of numbers from which to choose increases the odds of winning, albeit by only a little, especially given the odds to begin with. The chances of winning the $550 million jackpot is 1 in 175,223,510.
The odds are better that a ticket buyer dies on the way to the store to play the lottery, or is shot and killed at a robbery at the store, or is struck by lightning in the parking lot. The odds are better that the winner is involved in two consecutive fatal plane crashes.
Forty-two states participate in the Powerball drawing, though anyone over the age of 18 can purchase a ticket, regardless of residency or citizenship. California and Nevada are among the few states that do not participate, so residents of Southern California and Las Vegas drove hours to Arizona, the closest participating state, to buy tickets in bulk.
The drawing was held tonight at 10:59pm EST.