$340M JACKPOT CREATES RECORD SALES FOR TENN. POWERBALL; Winning Ticket Purchased in Oregon

NASHVILLE – While a player in Oregon made Powerball history last night by winning the record-breaking $340 million jackpot, Tennessee set its own sales records for the game, bringing millions more to Lottery-funded education programs.

Powerball sales alone for last night’s drawing, which includes the four days leading up to the draw, were $10.4 million. This shattered the previous Tennessee record of $4.6 million for a Wednesday Powerball drawing, set last week when the jackpot was $240 million. Overall sales for all of the Tennessee Lottery’s games during the past four days were approximately $19 million.

“The past few days have created a whirlwind of excitement for Lottery players, retailers and those who benefit from the programs we fund,” said Rebecca Paul, CEO and President of the Tennessee Lottery. “While the huge jackpot created news across the nation, the big news for Tennessee today is that education continues to win.”

Although no Tennessee player won the jackpot, there were 230,352 Powerball prize winners in the state. Of those, 33,693 quintupled their prizes by using the Power Play option. The numbers drawn last night were 7, 21, 43, 44, 49 and the Powerball was 29. The jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is estimated at $15 million.

In other news, the Lottery will award $1 million to one of three players on Saturday at the culmination of its third and final “Millionaire Live!” drawing event. The event will be held in Memphis and broadcast throughout the state at the following times:

WKRN Nashville: 6:30pm CST
WTVC Chattanooga: 7:30 pm EST
WBBJ Jackson: 6:30 pm CST
WMC Memphis: 6:30pm CST
WBIR Knoxville: 7:00pm EST
WKPT Tri Cities: 7:30 pm EST

Powerball drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:59 p.m. CST (10:59 p.m. EST). Lotto 5 drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights at 10:34 p.m. CST (11:34 p.m. EST); Drawings are held every night at 6:28 p.m. CST (7:28 p.m. EST) for the Tennessee Lottery’s other two online games, CASH 3 and CASH 4. Watch for all drawings on official Tennessee Lottery television stations throughout the state.

The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first tickets on January 20, 2004. As of Sept. 30, 2005, the Lottery had raised more than $415 million to fund specific education programs, including college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and after-school programs. For more information, please visit www.tnlottery.com. For information about Lottery-funded scholarships, visit www.collegepaystn.com.