Online Sportsbooks Take Powerball Bets

Powerball is set to offer one of the largest jackpots in American lottery history on Wednesday, and Las Vegas online bookmakers are offering customers the chance to bet on the lottery results.

Given the chance of actually picking the five numbers between one and 59 and the additional Powerball number between one and 39, putting a few dollars down at the sportsbooks probably seems to make a lot more sense.

The odds are much better there in any case, with sportsbooks challenging customers to pick whether the last Powerball number is odd or even. Of course, both options are paying exactly the same amount.

The top prize for Wednesday's Powerball draw will be $37 million. The highest prize ever awarded was $177 million on February 18, 2006, although it was split between eight winners.

Powerball is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association, a non-profit association.

It has been running since 1992, and always begins with a guaranteed $20 million jackpot, which grows each time a winner fails to emerge.