A seven-time lottery winner shares his tips for picking the winning numbers.
You could start the new year a whole lot richer.
The Powerball jackpot soared from $450 million to a staggering $500 million on Wednesday, officials said. The winning numbers will be drawn on Wednesday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
No one has won the prize since November 4, and if there's no winning ticket after tonight's drawing, the prize will continue to climb.
Read: Lottery Tips from a Seven-Time Winner
If you win - a likelihood of just one in 293 million - you'll have a choice between a one-time cash payout of $275 million or the full jackpot amount paid in 29 payments of around $15 million each.
So how could that money be yours?
Richard Lustig, who claims to be a seven-time lottery winner, previously shared his tips with INSIDE EDITION.
"Luck has nothing to do with this," he claimed. "People who rely on luck are fooling themselves."
He shared his advice:
1. Choose your own numbers. Don't let the machine pick them for you.
2. Don't pick all odd numbers or all even numbers.
3. Don't play patterns or diagonals on your lottery card.
4. Do your research to make sure your numbers haven't been drawn before.
Lustig, who penned the book Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery, said he re-invests a good portion of his lottery winnings.
Read: The Identities of the Biggest Lottery Winners Are Revealed
"It's like the old saying - you've got to be in it to win it," he said, but added: "Being in it is important, but being in it correctly is the thing."
Tonight's Powerball prize pot is the biggest in nearly a year. In February 2015, three winners split $564.1 million. It costs $2 to play.
The biggest ever lottery jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions prize, which was won in 2012.
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