Happy New Year indeed: Powerball Jackpot increases to $400 million for Wednesday's drawing

The start of 2016 brings the possibility of untold riches as the jackpot for Wednesday's Powerball drawing hits $400,000,000. The $44,200,000 jump from Saturday's jackpot is due to brisk sales across all 44 participating Powerball states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

So what can one do with $400,000,000? To put it into context: the entire Panama Canal was constructed for approximately $375,000,000.

According to Forbes, the winner could purchase all of the following and still have more than a $150,000,000 left over:

• Luxury Homes in Manhattan, Aspen and Maui ($3.4 million)
• A 1936 Mercedes-Benz Von Krieger 540K Special Roadster ($10M)
• 130-foot Columbus Sport Hybrid ($30M)
• At least a week at Richard Branson's Necker Island Resort in the Caribbean ($420K)
• A Citation X private jet ($23M)
• Celine Dion's private island (for sale; $29.3M)
• The New York City Football Club ($100M)
• Build a major arts center (akin to the Kennedy Center) ($50M)

If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball in Wednesday's drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow. Tickets for Wednesday's Powerball drawing can be purchased until 10 p.m. EST. There are more than 17,500 retail locations throughout New York where players can purchase New York Lottery tickets.

To win the Powerball jackpot, players must match five numbers from a field of 1 through 69 and one Powerball number from a field of 1 through 26. Tickets cost $2 per game.

Saturday's Powerball jackpot was $355,800,000 and produced more than 190,438 winning tickets in New York. With Wednesday's Powerball jackpot now at $400,000,000, New York will see even more winners across the state.

The largest Powerball jackpot across all participating states to date was $590.5 million, won in Florida in May 2013.

For all Lottery games, the New York Lottery urges players to follow this ticket safety checklist:

•Sign your ticket upon receipt.

•Check before leaving the store to ensure you have the correct ticket(s) and all corresponding receipts.

•Never hand a lottery ticket to anyone without knowing how much it's worth. (If you have to give a ticket to anyone to assess its value or collect winnings, sign the ticket first and always keep your ticket in view.)

•Use the ticket checker now available at all retail locations statewide to determine if you have a winning ticket before handing it to a store clerk for payment.

•Check your numbers against the Lottery's official winning numbers posted at more than 17,500 retail locations statewide, in newspapers and online at nylottery.ny.gov.

•Read the back of your ticket(s) to learn about alternative methods for claiming your prize (e.g. visit your regional Lottery customer service center or mail it in). Keep all Lottery tickets in a safe, secure place, as the Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets.

All Lottery Instant Game prizes must be claimed within one year from the announced end of game. All prizes for a Lottery drawing must be claimed within one year from the date of the drawing.

Notify the Lottery immediately if you think your ticket has been mishandled.

The New York Lottery continues to be North America's largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.11 billion in fiscal year 2014-15 to help support education in New York. The Lottery's contribution represents 14 percent of total state education aid to local school districts.