Tonight’s Powerball Jackpot drawing has hit a record setting amount of money set to be dished out to one or a few lucky winners.

Originally set at $425 million dollars, now due to strong sales in the jackpot drawing, the Lottery has raised the bar to over half a billion dollars for one very lucky winner, or a few.

Executive Director of the Missouri Lottery May Reardon says the cash option for a single payout before taxes is worth $360 million dollars.

 “Most players in Missouri use the ‘Quick-Pick’ where they can just go up to the desk and they say, ‘just give me a Quick-Pick,’ she says. “But we have our tried and true players in the state of Missouri who always want to play their favorite birthdays, they want to play their favorite numbers,” she says.

“They want to play any lucky numbers or have their superstitions and we encourage both. And Reardon is hoping that one of those winners will be from Missouri.

 “It’s been some time since we’ve seen the jackpot this high and so we really need a winner in Missouri, so hopefully folks are out there playing responsibly and spending their two dollars,” she says.

AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (1:03)