Powerball jackpot hits $425 million ahead of tonight's drawing

The Powerball jackpot has swelled to $425 million ahead of tonight's drawing, the third-highest total in the drawing's history.

If today's jackpot stays at $425 million, a single winner choosing the cash payout would collect $244.7 million.

An overhaul to the Powerball game last year has helped boost recent winnings, New York state lottery spokesperson Carolyn Hapeman said. Powerball ticket prices doubled from $1 to $2 in January 2012, the odds of winning improved for players, and jackpots now start at $40 million, instead of $20 million.

The biggest single-winner Powerball jackpot of $590.5 million was claimed in June by an 84-year-old Florida woman who opted for a lump-sum payment of nearly $371 million rather than the 30-year option. Behind that prize was a $587-million winning split by two players in November 2012.

The largest jackpot in U.S. history stands at $656 million, won in the Mega Millions lottery of March 2012. That prize was split among winners in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois.

The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 175 million, the association said on its website.

Reuters and the Los Angeles Times