Powerball may create many millionaires

? If someone wins the estimated $340 million Powerball jackpot Wednesday, he or she won’t be the only one who will benefit from the record prize.

Players matching all but the Powerball number in the same drawing that the jackpot is won will get a larger-than-normal prize, thanks to a bonus that kicks in when the jackpot reaches a record level. Those players also could become millionaires if the jackpot continues to grow, West Virginia Lottery Commission spokeswoman Nancy Bulla said Monday.

Normally, a player matching five numbers but not the Powerball wins $200,000. But if there is record jackpot, Powerball officials cap the next drawing’s contribution from ticket sales at $25 million. Any additional money goes into a bonus prize pool for the Match 5 winners.

Greg Forse, 20, fills out a Powerball ticket for the first time Monday at a convenience store in Farmington, N.M. Forse said that if he were to win 40 million in the Wednesday drawing he would go

The Match 5 bonus pool will have an estimated $13 million for Wednesday’s drawing, according to the Powerball Web site.

Bulla said about 30 Match 5 winners are anticipated in Wednesday’s drawing, based on previous drawings with large jackpots. If someone wins the jackpot, the Match 5 winners would get an extra $450,000 each, she said.

“The fewer winners, the more money they’ll get,” she said.

If the jackpot is not won Wednesday and continues to grow, the Match 5 winners “could win millions, depending on how long we go,” Bulla said.

The jackpot has been growing since mid-August and 20 drawings have passed without a jackpot being won. It is the biggest jackpot in the game’s history and eclipses the previous record of $314.9 million won on Christmas Day 2002 by Jack Whittaker of Scott Depot.