U.S. Powerball jackpot jumps to 625 mln USD for Saturday drawing

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The Powerball jackpot in the United States has jumped to an estimated 625 million U.S. dollars, with the next drawing scheduled for Saturday, the lottery game announced Thursday.

There was no ticket matching all six numbers drawn Wednesday night, making the jackpot surpass the 600-million-dollar mark for the fourth time ever.

According to Powerball, Saturday's advertised jackpot ranks as the fourth largest in its history and the seventh largest in U.S. lottery history.

"As Powerball players across the nation embrace the excitement, please remember to play responsibly and only play what you can afford," said David Barden, Powerball Product Group Chairman and New Mexico Lottery CEO. "It only takes one ticket to win."

The Powerball jackpot was last hit in New York in the December 26 drawing. Since then, there have been 24 drawings in a row without a jackpot winner.

The winning numbers in the Wednesday, March 20 drawing where white balls 10, 14, 50, 53, 63, plus Powerball 21, and Power Play multiplier 2X.

Four tickets matched all five white balls, but missed matching the red Powerball in Wednesday's drawing to win a 1 million-dollar prize. In total, there were more than 2.7 million winning tickets across all prize tiers.

Powerball tickets are two dollars per play. Tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday night.