COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – According to lottery officials, Poweball is drawing for its fifth largest jackpot on Saturday.
Holli Armstrong says the $478 million prize is just the latest in this year’s list of giant lottery jackpots.
The year began with a $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot split among winners in Tennessee, Florida and California and in the spring, the game saw a $291 million jackpot in Florida. Two months later, New Jersey came home with a $429 million win.
This July, officials say a Mega Millions ticket worth $540 million was sold in Indiana.
Lottery officials say the people with the lucky ticket aren’t the only parties that win.
“The real winner here is education,” said the SC Education Lottery’s Executive Director Paula Harper Bethea. “The Lottery was established with the sole purpose to generate revenue to underpin education, and this past fiscal year we committed a record $405 million to the State. This jackpot run will allow us to transfer even more.”
If someone from South Carolina takes home the winnings, the state earns 7 percent from taxes. The federal government keeps 25 percent.
Tickets for Saturday’s Powerball drawing are $2 each and must be bought by 9:59 p.m. for the 10:59 p.m. drawing.