Lottery fever, then waiting game, grip US

Keith Browne, 35, of Atlanta, fills out his numbers for a Powerball lottery ticket at a convenience store, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in Atlanta. “I only play when its over $300 million. I never get the numbers that come from the machine I just play numbers that randomly come to me at that particular time. It’s birthday’s and just numbers that I’ve been thinking about. They just sort of pop into my head and so anybody can win, why not me? I’m Just saying a little bit a prayer and hoping that I win when they draw tonight.” AP/David Goldman

WASHINGTON – Lottery fever gripped the United States as numbers were drawn for a Powerball jackpot estimated at $550 million, with potential lucky winners yet to come forward.

Powerball’s website crashed shortly after the winning numbers – 5, 23, 16, 22, 29, with Powerball 6 – were announced, as did that of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

The fever in the minutes up to the drawing was such that 160,000 tickets per minute were being sold, media reports said.

The jackpot was the second highest in the nation’s history.

Nobody has won the semi-weekly grand prize for Powerball – available in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands – since October 6, swelling the kitty for whoever holds the winning six-number combination.

Winning numbers, selected every Wednesday and Saturday, are made up of five out of 59 white balls plus one out of 35 red “Powerballs” from which the game gets its name.

The odds of winning stood at one in 175.2 million – compared to the one in a million chance of being struck by lightning in a given year.

“I’m buying this lottery ticket so I can put my pencil down and walk out of my office and live my dreams,” quipped a 40-something woman named Szami earlier as she bought a batch of tickets for herself and friends at a Washington corner store, declining to give her family name.

“It’s phenomenal. There’s a lot of excitement in the air,” added Kimberly Chopin of the Louisiana state lottery, which had sold $2.5 million in tickets by mid-afternoon Wednesday – compared to $1.1 million a week earlier.

The biggest jackpot in US lottery history – $640 million – was claimed by MegaMillions players in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland who all held tickets bearing the same winning number.

Lottery winnings in the United States, unlike those in Europe, are subject to taxation. Winners typically get a choice between an annuity spread over many years or a reduced amount paid out in a lump sum.

Besides the jackpot, players can win as much as $1 million if they hold tickets with most but not all of the drawn numbers, but Strutt told CNN Money many people are unaware of such secondary prizes, which end up going unclaimed.