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Expert shares secret to striking it rich as Powerball hits record-breaking $1.6 billion

The Powerball Jackpot has now reached $1.6 billion after no one matched all of the winning numbers in the last 40 drawings.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Lottery fever is at an all-time high because the Powerball jackpot is at a record high, $1.6 billion.

This historically high jackpot tops a $1.58 billion dollar prize from 2016. 

However, in the game of numbers, the odds of you matching all five numbers and the Powerball are dismal, at 1 in 292 Million!

Last year, Powerball added a third weekly drawing. 

Although that didn't help your odds of striking it rich, it has led to larger, faster-growing jackpots. 

So what's the secret to winning?

Ask anyone and they'll give you a different answer. 

Some pick birthdays or anniversaries, others have their own secrets. 

Experts say your best bet is to allow the computer to pick your numbers.

Statistically, that could lessen the chance that you'll have to split the winnings with someone else.

Experts also say buying a lot of tickets at once will likely have little to no impact on your odds of winning. 

"The Chance of winning even $4 by playing is still pretty small. So, you should have an attitude going into playing the Powerball with the expectation that you're not going to win very much, you're just doing it for fun," said Harvard University statistician, Mark Glickman.

Triad stores have been busy with people coming in to get their tickets. 

Jean Davis with the Irving Park BP says, in the past, they've had to bring in extra people to handle the lottery crowds. 

Friday night, business at the store was steady but she expects that to increase tomorrow, in the hours leading up to the drawing. 

"Tomorrow night, it's going to be more of a run and we hope Sunday that we'll see that somebody from here won it," said Davis. 

If you're lucky enough to strike it rich, you could take home a record $782 million.

That could buy you 3,174 houses in Greensboro, at the current average price, 2,947 luxury RV's or for the muscle car enthusiast, 10,168 brand new, top of the line Chevrolet Corvette's. 

If you want to try your luck at those 1 in 292 million odds, you'll have until 10:00 p.m. Saturday to purchase your ticket and the drawing will be at 10:59 p.m. 

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