Odds are, you didn't win the $295.7 million Powerball overnight. But here's who got your money: schools, retiring teachers, roads, police and firefighters.
And the list goes on.
The dollars plunked down for Powerball goes to lottery departments in 20 states and the District of Columbia. From there, it goes to a variety of causes earmarked for the windfall and, if no one wins, toward bigger jackpots.
The single winner in Wednesday night's drawing could win, before taxes, $11.7 million annually for the next 25 years. Or the winner could choose a lump-sum payment of $159.7 million, before taxes.
There were six $100,000 winners in Kenmtucky and 11 in Indiana.
The millions of other people nationwide who held a losing ticket can only wonder where the dollars went.
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For starters, 50 cents of every dollar goes for prizes. Of that, 29 cents is earmarked for the jackpot.
The other 50 cents is kept by the state lotteries and the District of Columbia lottery. How they use the money is usually governed by law in each state.
Kentucky's money goes to the state's general fund.
Kentuckians have spent $404 million for tickets since April 1992, when the game started. Since then, the state, ticket sellers and winners in Kentucky got $574 million back from national Powerball proceeds.
Some of the money is turned over to state governments, which use it for a variety of causes.
Arizona uses it for a Heritage Fund, in addition to roads and economic development. Ten percent of Kansas state government's windfall goes to pay for prisons. Some of Minnesota's money goes for a natural-resources fund. West Virginia money goes for education, tourism and senior citizens.
"Powerball has been a great game for the Kentucky Lottery and its players," spokesman Rick Redman said.
Since the last person hit the Powerball jackpot May 23, roughly $480 million has been spent nationwide on $1 tickets for the game. The amount spent since Saturday's drawing was about $130 million Wednesday afternoon and was expected to break the record $138 million for a similar period before the May 20 drawing, worth $195 million.
The non-Powerball Ohio Lottery, which offered a $20 million jackpot of its own Wednesday, is on pace to beat sales for its last $20 million drawing June 24.
Sales were running at about $5.2 million Wednesday afternoon, Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Sandy Lesko Mounts said.
But a few years ago, that might have been $8 million.
Casinos and horse racing are hurting the Ohio Lottery more than Powerball, she said.
Ohio Lottery sales fell about $100 million last year to $2.2 billion, she said. The previous year was a record.
