BOISE - The jackpot for tonight's Powerball draw has been increased an estimated to half-a-billion dollars, $500,000,000 for the annuity prize or a one-time cash payout of $306,000,000.

The Idaho Lottery continues to encourage participants to play responsibly and to only play what they can afford.

As the draw gets closer, some retail locations may experience higher than normal volumes of player traffic. Players are advised to plan ahead as there may be lines to purchase tickets later in the day.

Players have until 7:55 p.m. MT on Wednesday evening to purchase a ticket to participate in this Powerball draw.

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ABOUT THE IDAHO LOTTERY
The Idaho Lottery responsibly provides a variety of entertaining games featuring Powerball, Mega Millions, Scratch Games^TM, and PullTabs with a high degree of integrity to maximize the dividend for Idaho public schools and the permanent building fund. Since their inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold over $2.95 billion in products, awarded over $1.77 billion in prizes to players, returned more than $172.6 million in retail commissions, and distributed $694.5 million in Lottery dividends to Idaho public schools and the Permanent Building Fund. To learn more, please visit www.idaholottery.com.