Powerball Strategies For $305M Jackpot

You've probably heard that the Powerball jackpot has climbed to $305 million.

The prize grew after no one matched all six numbers in the multi-state lottery drawing Saturday night. The winning numbers were: 4, 13, 39, 46 and 51. The Powerball was 1.

Although no one hit the jackpot, several people made out nicely. Five Powerball tickets won $1 million because they matched five of the six winning numbers, according to the official Powerball website. The million-dollar tickets were sold in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Are you planning to purchase a ticket?

If you are, you should know that the odds of winning $1 million are one in 5.1 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million.

You may still be willing to plunk down your $2 for a ticket and the chance at the windfall of a lifetime - even though you know the odds are stacked against you. Someone has to win, right? Why not you?

Cynthia Stafford did. She won big, and here's how she did it: she meditated.

Stafford won her $112 million jackpot by playing a Quick Pick. She allowed the computer to choose the numbers for her.

"I did a little meditation and 112 came to me and I said, 'Okay, that's what I'm going to go for,'" she said.

She continues to play the lottery, though not as frequently.

"I may play once or twice a month," Stafford said. "Just a dollar or two because I won with a $2 ticket."

Richard Lustig, a seven-time lottery winner from Florida, plays the lottery every single day, like a full-time job. Sure, he loses sometimes. But he's also won more than $1 million.

He has some advice for you lottery hopefuls:

Do your research. Go online and make sure the set or sets of numbers you play have never come up before.

Have a plan. You have to learn what number to play and how often to play. Commit to your numbers and stick to your strategy.

Choose your own numbers. Don't leave it up to the machine.

Don't get swept up in the excitement. When jackpots get this high , Lustig says, people tend to get lottery fever and spend a lot more than they normally would or can afford. Don't go crazy; the odds are still the same no matter how much you spend.

Mathematicians and lottery officials have said that the odds of winning are always the same regardless of how many people play because the lottery is always drawn from the same set of numbers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.