1.5 Billion and counting!

It's almost too much money!   Seriously, I was thinking this morning that if I won, the first thing I'd do is hire a body guard.   And then hire three more to watch him.  Same with the lawyers, accountants and investment counselors.  I'd have to hire three of each, and pay them to keep an eye on each other.  How can you trust anybody with a billion and a half dollars?

The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night’s drawing jumped $100 million, and now stands at $1.5 billion. The cash option for the largest lottery jackpot in world history is $930 million.

Incidentally, two of those states are among the only six that will let you keep your identity a secret.  The six are Maryland, Delaware, Kansas, North Dakota, South Carolina and Ohio.

The Michigan Lottery says that the previous record for a U.S. lottery jackpot was $656 million. That Mega Millions jackpot was won on March 30, 2012, and split between three winning tickets.  Those winners were from Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland.  Powerball ticket sales began April 19, 1992. Michigan began selling Powerball tickets on Jan. 31, 2010.

The former record Powerball jackpot was $590.5 million, won on May 18, 2013, by Gloria C. Mackenzie, of Zephyrhills, Fla.

Saturday night’s $949.8 million Powerball jackpot had Lottery players swarming retailers for a chance at the record prize. While no players won the jackpot, three Michigan players matched the five white balls drawn to win $1 million.

The last Michigan player to win a Powerball jackpot was Julie Leach, of Three Rivers. In September, Leach won the game’s $310.5 million jackpot. In addition to Leach’s jackpot, four players won the game’s $1 million prize last year.

The largest Powerball prize in Michigan was a $337 million Powerball jackpot won on Aug. 15, 2012, by Donald Lawson, of Lapeer. Lawson’s jackpot holds the record for the largest Lottery prize ever won in Michigan.

Players have plenty of time to purchase tickets for Wednesday night’s drawing. Lottery retailers throughout the state are selling Powerball tickets for the drawing until 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to five times may be added to any Powerball play for only $1.

The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday nights, and may be watched live online at: http://www.powerballlive.com/powerball. Powerball tickets are sold in 44 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

About 97 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the form of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In the 2014 fiscal year, the Lottery’s contribution to Michigan’s public schools was $742.8 million. Since it began in 1972, the Lottery has contributed nearly $19 billion to education in Michigan. For additional information, follow the Michigan Lottery on Facebook, Twitter and online at www.michiganlottery.com.