Powerball jackpot reaches $334 million

The Powerball jackpot has risen to $334 million, the 12th-largest in the multistate game's history.

No one won the jackpot on Wednesday, and the next drawing will be Saturday night.  The Wednesday night numbers drawn were 12, 36, 38, 54, 61, and, the Powerball, 22.

The lump-sum cash prize for the estimated $334 million jackpot would be around $203 million.

The prize hasn't been this large since March 2013, when a New Jersey man won $338 million.  The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292 million.

New Powerball rules -- mainly enlarging the matrix for drawing the six balls -- went into effect in October, with the changes intended to produce bigger jackpots.   Individual play tickets cost $2 and are sold in most states, including Kentucky and Indiana.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.