San Diegans vying for $700 million Powerball prize

Lottery players across the U.S., and here in San Diego, are scooping up $2 Powerball tickets in hopes of beating the odds and winning a massive $700 million jackpot as Wednesday night’s drawing nears.

Tickets will be sold until 7 p.m. Wednesday, with the draw taking place one hour later.

The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is 1 in about 293 million, according to the Powerball website.

A professor at the University of Iowa who specializes in probability says to get a sense of what that means, imagine the number compared to the United States’ 324 million residents; that means your chance of winning is comparable to being the one lucky person in the United States, with everyone else losing.

The overall chance of winning any prize is 1 in 24.87. Players who match all five white balls but now red ball will win $1 million and players who match only the Powerball will win $4.

The Powerball game is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia,  Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.