Powerball jackpot reaches $422 million

The jackpot for Wednesday evening's Powerball drawing has climbed to $422 million, officials of the multistate lottery game have announced.

The one-time cash option on the jackpot is an estimated $291 million. The final jackpot and cash option will be set just before the 11 p.m. drawing and determined by final ticket sales.

Powerball is played in 44 states, including Kentucky and Indiana.

The record Powerball jackpot was $1.6 billion in January.

The odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9.  But the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.

Game rules were changed last fall, including enlargement of the matrix, to make it harder to match the six numbers drawn and to drive up the jackpot.  Five white balls are drawn from one set and the one red Powerball is picked from another set.

Powerball drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday night.

In Kentucky, the automatic tax withholding for any lottery prize greater than $5,000 is 31 percent -- 25 percent federal and 6 percent state taxes. Winners may be subject to additional taxes, depending on their annual earnings.

Lottery proceeds in Kentucky fund college scholarship and grants programs in the Commonwealth.

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