Powerball jackpot reaches record level

The Powerball jackpot has risen to a record level of $550 million and it continues to climb as many excited lottery players hope for the best.

The prize for last Saturday's Powerball was $325 million -- the fourth-largest in the game's history. For the 15th consecutive time, no players matched the winning numbers, which were 22, 32, 37, 44, 50 and Powerball 34.

The top prize now increases to an estimated $550 million, the largest in the history of the multi-state lottery game. The figure has risen in recent days as more people than expected bought tickets, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association.

In Grand Junction, the Shell gas station on 1st Street and Grand Avenue has been much busier than normal when it comes to Powerball ticket sales.

"It's going crazy, just in the last few minutes it went from $500 million to $550 million. Yesterday we saw four times the amount of Powerball tickets than we normally sell go out, and we're expecting even more than that today," said Mike Rathbone, general manager of the Shell station.

"It's fun watching the people trying to decide whether they want to do the quick picks or pick their own numbers and the systems that they have to win," Rathbone said.

The Powerball jackpot's still not the largest on record; that belongs to the Mega Millions prize of $656 million which was handed out in March earlier this year.