Powerball: Owners of 3 winning tickets to share $448-million jackpot

If you’re getting ready for work this morning, chances are you didn’t beat the Powerball odds.

The owners of three lottery tickets -- two in New Jersey, one in Minnesota -- did, however, defy the astronomical odds of matching the winning numbers Wednesday night. However, the identities of those who will share in the $448-million jackpot remain unknown.

The winning numbers were 5, 25, 30, 58, 59 and the Powerball, 32.

The allure of capturing such a rich jackpot has had players in a ticket-buying frenzy, further confirming that Powerball players often don’t get into the game until the jackpot offers relatively big bucks.

A recent game change increased the frequency of huge jackpots, and Wednesday’s was the third-largest ever. It accumulated just months after the biggest Powerball jackpot in history -- a $590-million pot won in Florida.

Quiz: Test your knowledge of Powerball

Officials say that with Powerball’s $2 tickets, jackpots in that game can rise faster with fewer tickets sold, compared with a game like Mega Millions, which costs only $1 per play.

The games are similar -- requiring players to match up to six numbers -- and the odds of hitting the jackpot in each of the games are almost the same: about 1 in 175.2 million for Powerball and about 1 in 175.7 million for Mega Millions.

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jason.wells@latimes.com

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