Powerball: Where to Buy Tickets, Jackpot Amount and More

The Powerball jackpot is up to $425 million Wednesday night. The cash value for that big prize is $244.7 million.

Where to play Powerball: Find a location.

The jackpot is won by matching all five white balls in any order, and picking the red Powerball number. Jackpot winners can either have their winnings paid out over 29 years in 30 payments or a lump sum payment.

Some people choose their Powerball numbers using all sorts of lucky numbers, using birth dates, ages, anniversaries and other numbers with special meaning, while others let the machine ("easy pick" in lotto lingo) do the number-choosing for them.

How do you pick your lotter numbers? Tell us in the comments below!

The Virginia Lottery is one of 45 lotteries nationwide that participate in the Powerball drawing; Virginia joined the game three years ago.

In February, a Fredericksburg couple took home a $136.4 million cash prize for their winning Powerball numbers.

The Powerball drawing on Nov. 28, 2012, produced the largest jackpot (annuity and cash values) in the game's history, $587.5 million annuity, or $384.7 million cash value.  

What are your odds of winning the Powerball jackpot? One in 175.2 million. You're more likely to get struck by lightning (one in 700,000) or get fatally attacked by a shark (one in 3.7 million).