Powerball jackpot soars to $550 million after top prize goes unclaimed

The Powerball jackpot is up to $550 million after no one won it all Saturday night, however there were million-dollar tickets sold in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Dakota, according to the lottery website.

The over half-billion jackpot is the eighth-largest ever for the Powerball lottery. The cash option for Wednesday night’s drawing is an estimated $335 million.

The winning numbers for March 16 were: 30 – 34 – 39 – 53 – 67 and Powerball 11. The Power Play was 2x. The jackpot was worth an estimated $495 million.

While no one matched all six balls, three tickets matched the five white balls to take home second-place prizes. One was sold in New Jersey, however the location of where the ticket was sold was not immediately released. That ticket is worth $1 million, as is one sold in Pennsylvania. The North Dakota ticket is worth $2 million because the player had the Power Play option.

Also, 44 tickets correctly matched four white balls and the Powerball to win $50,000, according to lottery officials.

The jackpot was last won on Dec. 26 in New York.

If you win the Powerball jackpot, you should probably call a lawyer and be ready to tell lots of people no because life is about to get a little hectic.

Unfortunately, anyone hoping to stay under the radar with future winnings is out of luck. In New Jersey, winners are required to be identified. But maybe not for long, after a bill was introduced in the New Jersey State Legislature to allow winners to remain anonymous.

No one won the Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, so that rises to $45 million for Tuesday night’s drawing, according to the lottery website. A $50,000 winning Powerball ticket was recently sold at a South Hackensack 7-Eleven.

Read more at usatoday.com.