The Virginia Lottery expects a busy day at its outlets across the state now that tonight’s Powerball jackpot has grown to an estimated $245 million dollars — or a cash option of $146 million. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones.

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It’s the largest Powerball top prize since June of last year. And it is the biggest jackpot available to Virginia Lottery players since the MegaMillions jackpot reached $319 million in March.

The lottery expects to sell about 700,000 Powerball tickets today alone and sales to approach 1,200 a minute at times during the day. Lottery officials say sales start rising dramatically any time jackpots top $100 million.