Powerball jackpot climbs to $359 million

Lorraine Trotta of Lindenhurst buys a Powerball ticket from Maulik & Chandni stationary store in Lindenhurst on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz
Did those snowflakes on this dreary Monday morning get you down? Maybe it’s time to get your dream on.
Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot is at $359 million, and that has the potential to bring on a bunch of sunshine and smiles.
No one matched the five numbers 16, 24, 28, 43, 61 and the Powerball of 21 in Saturday’s drawing, increasing the jackpot from $320 million, according to the New York Lottery.
Nationwide, one ticket sold in Michigan matched the five numbers but missed the Powerball. That ticket is worth $1 million, the lottery said.
Generally, sales pick up significantly in the big-prize, multistate lottery games when jackpots surpass $300 million, lottery officials say.
Wednesday’s jackpot ranks among the 20th largest in the history of North American prizes but is well shy of the record — a $1.586 billion Powerball pot from January of this year.
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