Winning numbers in the Powerball jackpot of $448 million were drawn Wednesday evening. Officials say three winning tickets were sold.
Balls used to determine winning numbers for Powerball.
Sue Dooley, senior drawing manager production coordinator for the Multi-State Lottery Association, said late Wednesday night that three tickets matched all six numbers and would split the $448 million Powerball jackpot.
"We had three grand prize winners," Dooley said. "One was in Minnesota and two were in New Jersey."
She said it wasn't yet clear exactly where the tickets had been sold or who the winners where. She said that information would come from the individual states' lottery officials.
The numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 05, 25, 30, 58, 59 and Powerball 32.
At the time of the telecast, Powerball officials announced that the jackpot previously pegged at $425 million had grown to an estimated $448 million.
The allure of capturing such a rich jackpot has had players in a ticket-buying frenzy, further confirming Powerball players often don't get into the game until the jackpot offers big bucks.
A recent game change increased the frequency of huge jackpots, and Wednesday's third largest-ever jackpot comes only months after the biggest Powerball jackpot in history — a $590 million pot won in Florida.
That jackpot was won in May by an 84-year-old Florida woman.
The changes Powerball organizers made to the game last year are coming to roost in the billowing jackpots, with Wednesday's pushing into record territory less than three months after Gloria C. Mackenzie of Zephyrhills, Fla., claimed the biggest Powerball prize ever.
Powerball tickets doubled in price to $2 in January 2012 as part of a plan to help jackpots grow bigger, faster. And when the jackpots reach astronomical levels, ticket sales take off, with jackpots following close behind.
If Wednesday's jackpot hits $425 million, a single winner choosing the cash option would collect $244.7 million before taxes.
No matter how many people play the game, the odds of matching all six numbers remains 1 in 175.2 million.
Half of the $2 cost of a Powerball ticket goes toward the prizes, the rest to the state lottery organization.
Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Each state that participates in the game decides how to use the money. Some states earmark the money for a specific purpose, such as education, while others use it in their general funds.
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