If you are lucky enough to win America’s Powerball lottery jackpot Wednesday night, you could take home all or part of an estimated $1.5 billion. You can play the lottery in all but six U.S. states. The game of chance could forever change the life of the winner or winners. Whatever the final jackpot is, the federal government will get its share of the money almost 40 percent in taxes. Then, depending on where you live, the state government could take another 8 percent. But still, if a single Powerball winner takes the jackpot in a lump sum and pays all the tax, she or he could walk away with over $500 million. Until now, the largest U.S. lottery prize ever offered -- $656 million was paid out in a Mega Millions game in 2012. The chances of winning the Powerball game are 1-in-292 million.
