Powerball jackpot up to $485 million

Tomorrow’s players have a chance to win Powerball’s third largest jackpot ever -- $485 million -- according to Judith Drucker, chief communications officer of the New Jersey Lottery.  

Drucker said the increase in tomorrow’s jackpot has attracted more customers than ever before. Ticket sales on Sunday and Monday were the highest in company history.

“This is the time that everyone gets together and chips in on purchasing extra tickets. With that much of a jackpot, there’s certainly enough to go around,” she said. “Anything can happen in Jersey.”

The jackpot has a cash value of $327.7 million before taxes, Drucker noted.

New Jersey had its first Powerball winner in 2010 months after the tickets became available in the state, according to NJ.com. Dominick DeMarco, a spokesman for the New Jersey Lottery Commission, told NJ.com that this win marked New Jersey as the only state to have jackpot winners for both Powerball and Megamillions. Last year’s Powerball jackpot hit the lottery’s sixth-highest amount of $425 million and was won in California, according to Reuters.

According to the NJ Lottery's website, Powerball drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday around 10:59 p.m.