$425 Powerball jackpot is small compared to total U.S. lottery sales CHICAGO, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Wednesday's $425 million Powerball jackpot is the largest prize in that game's history but it's a pittance compared to what U.S. lotteries make, officials said. Despite an anemic U.S. economy, the 2011-12 fiscal year saw total state lottery ticket sales of $60.8 billion, Tribune newspapers reported Tuesday. The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries said there was an 8.7 percent increase in lottery revenue from the previous fiscal year. The association said 32 of the country's 44 state lotteries set sales highs that make Powerball's $425 million look small. In Illinois, one of the 33 states participating in Powerball, tickets sales are reported up. "Over the weekend it was insane," said clerk Denise Van Der Griend of Party Liquors in the south Chicago suburb of Steger. We had lines longer for lottery tickets than we did at the [liquor sales] counter.