OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- One person overcame the 1-in-146.1 million odds to buy a winning Powerball ticket worth a record $365 million, lottery officials said early Sunday.
Only one winning ticket was sold for Saturday's jackpot, the largest in the country's history, the Powerball Web site said.
Nebraska Lottery officials confirmed a winning ticket was sold in Lincoln, spokesman Brian Rockey said. They know where it was sold and will visit the site early Sunday to verify the ticket, he said.
As of early Sunday, no one had come forward to claim the jackpot, he said. "We don't know if the winner knows yet," Rockey said.
The Powerball jackpot topped the previous lottery record, which was $363 million for the Big Game -- the forerunner of Mega Millions. That was won by two ticket holders in Illinois and Michigan in 2000.
Powerball's previous record of $340 million was won by an Oregon family in October.
People with dreams of winning the record jackpot stood in lengthening lines Saturday to buy tickets that flew out of machines at dizzying speeds.
West Virginia retailers cranked out tickets at a rate of 29 per second on Friday, said Libby White, the lottery's marketing director. North Carolina and Virginia residents called the West Virginia lottery asking for directions to the closest retailer, she said.
Sales in South Carolina reached $11,000 a minute on Friday, "pretty staggering," said John C.B. Smith, chairman of the state's lottery commission.
Jerry Bono, a furniture mover from Omaha, said he averages $10 worth of Powerball tickets per week, but goes for the big jackpots and leaves the lesser games alone. "If I lose, I lose, but if I ever hit, I'd get out of here and move to Las Vegas."
Powerball is played in 28 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Sounds like a heck of a deal, but that's still pretty steep for my budget. I might be able to swing the initial investment, but not sure if I could keep up the monthly cash flow. JD probably doesn't want to lower his livng standards just because I wouldn't be able to keep up with his current contract.