Powerball drawing puts $400 million jackpot up for grabs

The latest Powerball jackpot up for grabs Wednesday night is considered the nation's fifth-largest ever.

No ticket matched all Saturday's numbers drawn for that game's giant jackpot, which swelled to an estimated $400 million or a $223.6 million cash-option value. Powerball has gone 11 drawings since Aug. 10 without a winner.

Wednesday night's drawing is set for 10:59 p.m. ET.

In New Orleans, people told CBS Radio News they'd do something good with their winnings.

"First thing I'd do with the money is go to Children's Hospital and make a huge donation for them children," one man said.

"I'd open up my own nursery for babies," one woman said.

A person's odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million. That's how many combinations are possible with the game's five white balls and one red ball.

There's technically no need to wait for a larger jackpot. Whether the jackpot is $40 million or $400 million, your odds of winning the top prize are the same. Whether you buy 1 ticket or 10 tickets, your odds are pretty much the same. A higher jackpot just means there's a higher chance there will be more than one winning ticket.

A major revamp in January 2012 increased the cost of a Powerball ticket from $1 to $2. It also led to larger jackpots in smaller amounts of time. Of the top 10 Powerball jackpots of all time, nearly half have been recorded after the game change.

Since the revamp, a secondary $1 million prize has made some losers happy anyway. More than 730 people have won $1 million, and more than 120 people have won $2 million through the Power Play option.

Powerball is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.