$1 Million Powerball Winner Sold on Long Island, Jackpot Soars to $415 Million

One Long Islander was just a number away from winning a $348 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday night, but he or she will still take home a cool $1 million (that is before Uncle Sam gets his cut).

There were two second prize winning tickets sold for Wednesday's drawing, including a Quick Pick ticket sold at the Exxon gas station located at 1490 5th Ave. in Bay Shore, but no one hit the big one.

Powerball winning numbers for May 4, 2016:

• 30-47-57-66-69 Powerball is 3

The other second prize winning ticket (matching five numbers and just missing the Powerball number) was sold in Florida.

With no winner, the jackpot for Saturday, May 7, will be $415 million with a cash payout of nearly $270 million. That prize is expected to increase before Saturday.

Earlier this year, the Powerball jackpot climbed up to $1.6 billion, the highest it has ever been. There ended up being three winners, from California, Tennessee and Florida.

It may not take long to get there. On Jan. 2, the jackpot was $355 million. And it was just three drawings later that the jackpot climbed to its record finish on Jan. 13.

Click here to find out where to play.

So how does Powerball work?

Tickets are sold for $2 in 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The jackpot starts at $40 million and increases after each drawing if there isn't a winner.

Players pick five numbers from one to 69 and a sixth Powerball number, one through 26. (Most people just choose to get random numbers.) There are various levels of payouts, but to win the ultimate jackpot, you have to match all five numbers plus the Powerball.

The odds of that happening? Just 1 in 292,201,338. In other words, don't cash out your kids' college fund to buy tickets.

A winner can pick two ways to claim their prize. The first is an annuity that is paid out 30 times over 29 years. The second is an immediate cash payout that is available immediately but is significantly less money than the total jackpot.