Powerball jackpot hits $284M; still below record

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot is climbing again, though it will take some time before it breaks any major record.

The Multi-State Lottery Association says the jackpot is up to an estimated $284 million after no winning ticket was selected Saturday. The top prize could grow before the next drawing Wednesday.

The jackpot is well below the kind of prize money that catches a casual player's attention these days. But it shows how changes to top lottery games have created bigger jackpots in shorter periods of time.

A $636 million Mega Millions jackpot in December was the second-largest in U.S. lottery history.

Powerball is played in 43 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of matching all six numbers in the game are 1 in about 175 million.