(Radio Iowa) – The Powerball jackpot is now estimated at more than one BILLION dollars for tonight’s drawing. Iowa Lottery C-E-O Matt Strawn says they always remind everyone that buying more tickets doesn’t increase your odds of winning. “It just takes one two-dollar ticket to win a jackpot prize, a life-changing prize of this amount,” he says. The jackpot ins at one-point-two-five BILLION dollars for the drawing at 9:59 tonight. Strawn talked about the issue during Tuesday’s Lottery Commission meeting and says the big numbers draw in people who don’t normally play.

He says the message is the same regardless of the size of the jackpot. “Play responsibly, even in these billion-dollar jackpot announcements,” her says.

Whoever wins the jackpot has the option of taking a one-time payment of 572 million dollars. The drawing is at 9:59 p-m Iowa time and you must buy a ticket in Iowa by 8:59 p-m.