Powerball mints 3 millionaires in Pa., N.J.

No one in the Philadelphia area hit the grand prize in Wednesday's $564.1 million Powerball drawing, but three more people from Pennsylvania and New Jersey are now millionaires.

Three tickets, sold in North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas matched all five white balls (11, 13, 25, 39, 54) and the Powerball of 19 in the drawing to hit the jackpot. The winners can claim either one-third of the $564.1 annuity jackpot or one third of the $381 million cash payout

Two tickets sold in Pennsylvania and New Jersey matched the five white balls, but not the Powerball, lottery officials said.

One of those, sold by Unity Food Mart, located at 219 N. Main St. in Muncy, Lycoming County, was purchased with the power play option, making it worth $2 million.

The other winning ticket is worth $1 million. That ticket was sold at Domestic and Imported Beverage, located at 485 Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills, Delaware County.

A $1 million ticket was also sold in New Jersey, at the Florham Park Liquors, located at 184 Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park, Morris County.

The Lycoming County ticket was the only $2 million winner on Wednesday. Other $1 million tickets were sold in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

The grand prize was increased several times Tuesday and Wednesday, rising from $450 million to $564 million due to strong ticket sales.

Despite one-in-175-million odds, tickets in Pennsylvania were being purchased at a rate of 10,000 per minute on Wednesday afternoon, according to lottery officials.

The jackpot was the third-highest in Powerball history and the fifth-largest all-time lottery jackpot.

It had been rolling over since Nov. 29, when a Washington woman won the $90 million top prize.

The jackpot rises each time no one wins, and is now back down to $40 million for Saturday's drawing.

The record Powerball jackpot stands at $590.5 million, won by a Florida ticket in May 2013, and followed by a $587.5 million jackpot, split by Missouri and Arizona tickets in November 2012.

The two largest lottery jackpots ever are both from Mega Millions: A $656 million grand prize in March 2012 and $648 million in December 2013.